THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 


GIFT  OF 

Mary  Randall 


THE 


ATCHER.S 


THE 
WATCHERS 


H  novel 


BY 


A.    E.    W.    MASON 

AUTHOR     OF     "THE     COURTSHIP     OF     MORRICE 
BUCKLER,"     ETC. 


* 


NEW    YORK 

FREDERICK  A.  STOKES  COMPANY 


PUBLISHERS 


Copyright,    iSg^, 
By   Frederic k    A.    Stokes    Company 


GIFT 


mi 


CONTENTS 


CHAP.  PAGE 

I.  TELLS   OF   A  DOOR    AJAR    AND  OF  A    LAD  WHO    STOOD 

BEHIND   IT I 

II.    DICK  PARMITER'S  STORY 1 7 

III.  OF  THE  MAGICAL  INFLUENCE  OF  A    MAP 37 

IV.  DESCRIBES    THE     REMARKABLE     MANNER    IN    WHICH 

CULLEN  M  AYLE    LEFT  TRESCO 49 

V.   THE  ADVENTURE  IxN  THE  WOOD 64 

VI.    MY  FIRST  NIGHT  UPON  TRESCO 81 

VII.   TELLS  OF   AN    EXTRAORDINARY    INCIDENT    IN  CULLEN 

MAYLE'S    BEDROOM lOI 

VIII.    HELEN  MAYLE HO 

IX.   TELLS  OF  A  STAIN  UPON  A  WHITE  FROCK  AND  A    LOST 

KEY 125 

X.    IN  WHICH  I  LEARN  SOMETHING  FROM  AN  ILL-PAINTED 

PICTURE 1 39 

XI.   OUR  PLANS  MISCARRY  UPON  CASTLE  DOWN 1 54 

XII.   I  FIND  AN  UNEXPECTED  FRIEND I73 

XIII.    IN  THE  ABBEY  GROUNDS I93 

XIV.    IN  WHICH    PETER    TORTUE    1  XPLAINS    HIS    INTERVEN- 
TION ON  xMY  BEHALF 203 

XV.   THE  LOST  KEY  IS    FOUND 226 

XVI.   AN  UNSATISFACTORY  EXPLANATION 238 

XVII.   CULLEN  MAYLE  COMES    HOME 25O 

XVIII.    MY  PERPLEXITIES  A  K  K   KXl'I.AINKD 265 

XIX.   THE  LAST 276 


KiSSllTG 


THE  WATCHERS 


CHAPTER  I 


TELLS  OF  A  DOOR  AJAR  AND  OF  A  LAD  WHO 
STOOD  BEHIND  IT 

I  HAD  never  need  to  keep  any  record  either  of 
the  date  or  place.  It  was  the  fifteenth  night  of 
July,  in  the  year  1758,  and  the  place  was  Lieuten- 
ant Clutterbuck's  lodging  at  the  south  corner  of 
Burleigh  Street,  Strand.  The  night  was  tropical 
in  its  heat,  and  though  every  window  stood  open 
to  the  Thames,  there  was  not  a  man,  I  think,  who 
did  not  long  for  the  cool  relief  of  morning,  or 
step  out  from  time  to  time  on  to  the  balcony  and 
search  the  dark  profundity  of  sky  for  the  first 
flecks  of  grey.  I  cannot  be  positive  about  the 
entire  disposition  of  the  room  :  but  certainly 
Lieutenant  Clutterbuck  was  playing  at   ninepins 

down  the  middle  with  half  a  dozen  decanters  and 

I 


2  THE  WATCHERS 

a  couple  of  silver  salvers ;  and  Mr.  Macfarlane, 
a  young  gentleman  of  a  Scottish  regiment,  was 
practising  a  game  of  his  own. 

He  carried  the  fire-irons  and  Lieutenant  Clut- 
terbuck's  sword  under  his  arm,  and  walked  solidly 
about  the  floor  after  a  little  paper  ball  rolled  up 
out  of  a  news  sheet,  which  he  hit  with  one  of 
these  instruments,  selecting  now  the  poker,  now 
the  tongs  or  the  sword  with  great  deliberation, 
and  explaining  his  selection  with  even  greater 
earnestness  ;  there  was  besides  a  great  deal  of 
noise,  which  seemed  to  be  a  quality  of  the  room 
rather  than  the  utterance  of  any  particular  person  ; 
and  I  have  a  clear  recollection  that  everything, 
from  the  candles  to  the  glasses  on  the  tables  and 
the  broken  tobacco  pipes  on  the  floor,  was  of  a 
dazzling  and  intolerable  brightness.  This  bright- 
ness distressed  me  particularly,  because  just  op- 
posite to  where  I  sat  a  large  mirror  hung  upon  the 
wall  between  two  windows.  On  each  side  was  a 
velvet  hollow  of  gloom,  in  the  middle  this  glitter- 
ing oval.  Every  ray  of  light  within  the  room 
seemed  to  converge  upon  its  surface.  I  could  not 
but  look  at  it — for  it  did  not  occur  to  me  to  move 
away  to  another  chair — and  it  annoyed  me  ex- 
ceedingly.    Besides,  the  mirror  was  inclined  for- 


TELLS  OF  A  DOOR  AJAR  3 

ward  from  the  wall,  and  so  threw  straight  down 
at  me  a  reflection  of  Lieutenant  Clutterbuck's 
guests,  as  they  flung  about  the  room  beneath 
it. 

Thus  I  saw  a  throng  of  flushed  young  exuberant 
faces,  and  in  the  background,  continually  peeping 
between  them,  my  own,  very  white  and  drawn 
and  thin  and  a  million  years  old.  That,  too, 
annoyed  me  very  much,  and  then  by  a  sheer 
miracle,  as  it  seemed  to  me,  the  mirror  splintered 
and  cracked  and  dropped  in  fragments  on  to  the 
floor,  until  there  was  only  hanging  on  the  wall  the 
upper  rim,  a  thin  curve  of  glass  like  a  bright  sickle. 
I  remember  that  the  noise  and  hurley-burley  sud- 
denly ceased,  as  though  morning  had  come  un- 
awares upon  a  witches'  carnival  and  that  all  the 
men  present  stood  like  statues  and  appeared  to 
stare  at  me.  Lieutenant  Clutterbuck  broke  the 
silence,  or  rather  tore  it,  with  a  great  loud  laugh 
which  crumpled  up  his  face.  He  said  something 
about  "  Old  Steve  Berkeley,"  and  smacked  his 
hand  upon  my  shoulder,  and  shouted  for  another 
glass,  which  he  filled  and  placed  at  my  elbow,  for 
my  own  had  disappeared. 

I  had  no  time  to  drink  from  it,  however,  for  just 
as  I  was  raising  it  to  my  lips   Mr.  Macfarlane's 


4  THE  WATCHERS 

paper  ball  dropped  from  the  ceiling  into  the 
liquor. 

"  Bunkered,  by  God  !  "  cried  Mr.  Macfarlane, 
amidst  a  shout  of  laughter. 

I  looked  at  Macfarlane  wth  some  reserve. 

"  I  don't  understand,"  I  began. 

*'  Don't  move,  man  ! "  cried  he,  as  he  forced  me 
back  into  my  chair,  and  dropping  the  fire-irons 
with  a  clatter  on  to  the  floor,  he  tried  to  scoop 
the  ball  out  of  the  glass  with  the  point  of 
Clutterbuck's  sword-sheath.  He  missed  the  glass ; 
the  sheath  caught  me  full  on  the  knuckles ;  I 
opened  my  hand  and 

"  Sir,  you  have  ruined  my  game,"  said  Mr. 
Macfarlane,  with  considerable  heat. 

**  And  a  good  thing  too,"  said  I,  "  for  a  sillier 
game  I  never  saw  in  all  my  life." 

"  Gentlemen,"  cried  Lieutenant  Clutterbuck, 
though  he  did  not  articulate  the  word  with  his 
customary  precision  ;  but  his  intentions  were  un- 
doubtedly pacific.  He  happened  to  be  holding 
the  last  of  his  decanters  in  his  hand,  and  he  swung 
it  to  and  fro.  "  Gentlemen,"  he  repeated,  and  as 
if  to  keep  me  company,  he  let  the  decanter  slip 
out  of  his  hand.  It  fell  on  the  floor  and  split 
with  a  loud  noise.     "  Well,"  said  he,   solemnly, 


TELLS  OF  A  DOOR  AJAR  5 

"  I  have  dropped  a  brooch,"  and  he  fumbled  at  his 
cravat. 

Another  peal  of  laughter  went  up  ;  and  while 
it  was  still  ringing,  a  man — what  his  name  was  I 
cannot  remember,  even  if  I  ever  knew  it ;  I  saw 
him  for  the  first  time  that  evening,  and  I  have 
only  once  seen  him  since,  but  he  was  certainly- 
more  sober  than  the  rest— stooped  over  my  chair 
and   caught  me  by  the   arm. 

"  Steve,"  said  he,  with  a  chuckle, — and  from 
this  familiarity  to  a  new  acquaintance  I  judge  he 
was  not  so  sober  after  all, — '*  do  you  notice  the 
door?  " 

The  door  was  in  the  corner  of  the  room  to 
my  right.  I  looked  towards  it :  the  brass  handle 
shone  like  a  gold  ball  in  the  sun.  I  looked  back 
at  my  companion,  and,  shaking  my  arm  free,  I 
replied  coldly  : 

"  I  see  it.  It  is  a  door,  a  mere  door.  But  I 
do  not  notice  it.     It  is  not  indeed  noteworthy." 

**  It  is  unlatched,"  said  my  acquaintance,  with 
another  chuckle. 

"  I  suppose  it  is  not  the  only  door  in  the  world 
in  that  predicament." 

"  But  it  was  latched  a  moment  ago,"  and  with 
his  forefinger  he  gently  poked  me  in  the  ribs. 


6  THE  WATCHERS 

"  Then  someone  has  turned  the  handle,"  said 
I,  drawing  myself  away. 

*'  A  most  ingenious  theory,"  said  he,  quite 
unabashed  by  my  reserve,  "  and  the  truth.  Some- 
one /las  turned  the  handle.  Now  who  ? "  He 
winked  with  an  extreme  significance.  "  My  dear 
sir,  who  ?  " 

I  looked  round  the  room.  Mr.  Macfarlane  had 
resumed  his  game.  Two  gentlemen  in  a  corner 
through  all  the  din  were  earnestly  playing  putt 
with  the  cards.  They  had,  however,  removed 
their  wigs,  and  their  shaven  heads  gleamed  un- 
pleasantly. Others  by  the  window  were  vociferat- 
ing the  chorus  of  a  drinking  song.  Lieutenant 
Clutterbuck  alone  was  near  to  the  door.  I  was  on 
the  point  of  pronouncing  his  name  when  he  lurched 
towards  it,  and  instantly  the  door  was  closed. 

"  It  was  someone  outside,"  said  I. 

"  Precisely.  Steve,  you  are  not  so  devoid  of 
sense  as  your  friends  would  have  me  believe," 
continued  my  companion.  "  Now,  who  will  be 
Lieutenant  Clutterbuck's  timorous  visitor  ?  "  He 
drew  his  watch  from  his  fob  :  "  We  may  hazard  a 

guess  at  the  sex,  I  think,  but  for  the  rest Is  it 

some  fine  lady  from  St.  James's  who  has  come  in 
her  chair  at  half-past  one  of  the  morning  to  keep 


TELLS  OF  A  DOOR  AJAR  7 

an  appointment   which  her  careless  courtier  has 
forgotten  ?  " 

"  Hardly,"  I  returned.  "  For  your  fine  lady 
would  hurry  back  to  her  chair  with  all  the  speed 
her  petticoats  allowed.  She  would  not  stay  be- 
hind the  door,  which,  I  see,  has  again  been 
opened." 

The  familiar  stranger  laid  his  hand  upon  my 
shoulder  and  held  me  back  in  my  chair  at  arm's 
length  from  him. 

"  They  do  you  wrong,  my  dear  Steve,"  said  he, 
gravely,  "  who  say  your  brains  are  addled  with 
drink.  Your  " — his  tongue  stumbled  over  a  long 
word  which  I  judged  to  be  "  ratiocination" —  "  is  ad- 
mirable. Never  was  logician  more  precise.  It  is 
not  a  fine  lady  from  St.  James's.  It  will  be  a 
flower-girl  from  Drury  Lane,  and  may  I  be  eter- 
nally as  drunk  as  I  am  to-night,  if  we  do  not  have 
her  into  the  room." 

With  that  he  crossed  the  room,  and  seizing  the 
handle  suddenly  swung  the  door  open.  The  next 
instant  he  stepped  back.  The  door  was  in  a  line 
with  the  wall  against  which  my  chair  was  placed, 
and  besides  it  opened  towards  me  so  that  I  could 
not  see  what  it  was  that  so  amazed  him. 

"  Here's  the   strangest   flower-girl   from   Drury 


8  THE  WATCHERS 

Lane  that  ever  I  saw,"  said  he,  and  Lieutenant 
Clutterbuck  turning  about  cried  : 

"  By  all  that's  wonderful,  it's  Dick  Parmiter," 
and  a  lad  of  fifteen  years,  with  a  red  fisherman's 
bonnet  upon  his  head  and  a  blue  jersey  on  his  back, 
stepped  hesitatingly  into  the  room. 

"Well,  Dick,  what's  the  news  from  Scilly?" 
continued  Clutterbuck.  "  And  what's  brought 
you  to  London  ?  Have  you  come  to  see  the  king 
in  his  golden  crown  ?  Has  Captain  Hathaway  lost 
his  DiodoriLS  Siculus  and  sent  you  to  town  to  buy 
him  another  ?     Come,  out  with  it !  " 

Dick  shifted  from  one  foot  to  another  ;  he  took 
his  cap  from  his  head  and  twisted  it  in  his  hands ; 
and  he  looked  from  one  to  another  of  Lieutenant 
Clutterbuck's  guests  who  had  now  crowded  about 
the  lad  and  were  plying  him  with  questions.  But 
he  did  not  answer  the  questions.  No  doubt  the 
noise  and  the  lights,  and  the  presence  of  these 
glittering  gentlemen  confused  the  lad,  who  was 
more  used  to  the  lonely  beaches  of  the  islands  and 
the  companionable  murmurs  of  the  sea.  At  last 
he  plucked  up  the  courage  to  say,  with  a  glance  of 
appeal  to  Lieutenant  Clutterbuck: 

"  I  have  news  to  tc  '.1,  but  I  would  sooner  tell  it 
to  you  alone." 


TELLS  OF  A  DOOR  AJAR  9 

His  appeal  was  received  with  a  chorus  of  pro- 
testations, and  "  Where  are  your  manners,  Dick," 
cried  Clutterbuck,  "  that  you  tell  my  friends  flat 
to  their  faces  they  cannot  keep  a  secret?  " 

"Are  we  women  ?  "  asked  Mr.  Macfarlane. 

"  Out  with  your  story,"  cried  another. 

Dick  Parmiter  shrank  back  and  turned  his  eyes 
towards  the  door,  but  one  man  shut  it  to  and 
leaned  his  shoulders  against  the  panels,  while 
the  others  caught  at  the  lad's  hesitation  as  at  a  new 
game,  and  crowded  about  him  as  though  he  was 
some  rare  curiosity  brought  by  a  traveller  from 
outlandish  parts. 

"  He  shall  tell  his  story,"  cried  Clutterbuck. 
"  It  is  two  years  since  I  was  stationed  at  the 
Scilly  Islands,  two  years  since  I  dined  in  the  mess- 
room  of  Star  Castle  with  Captain  Hathaway  of 
his  Majesty's  Invalids,  and  v.^as  bored  to  death 
with  his  dissertations  on  Diodorus  Siculiis.  Two 
years!  The  boy  must  have  news  of  consequence. 
There  is  no  doubt  trouble  with  the  cray  fish,  or 
Adam  Mayle  has  broken  the  head  of  the  collector 
of  the  Customs  House " 

"  Adam  Mayle  is  dead.  He  was  struck  down 
by  paralysis  and  never  moved  till  he  died,"  inter- 
rupted Dick  Parmiter. 


10  THE  WATCHERS 

The  news  sobered  Clutterbuck  for  an  instant. 
"  Dead  !  "  said  he,  gaping  at  the  boy.  ^'  Dead  !  '* 
he  repeated,  and  so  flung  back  to  his  noise  and 
laughter,  though  there  was  a  ring  of  savagery  in 
it  very  strange  to  his  friends.  "  Well,  more  brandy 
will  pay  revenue,  and  fewer  ships  will  come  ashore, 
and  very  like  there'll  be  quiet  upon  Tresco " 

"  No,"  interrupted  Parmiter  again,  and  Clutter- 
buck  turned  upon  him  with  a  flush  of  rage. 

"  Well,  tell  your  story  and  have  done  with  it ! " 

"To  you,"  said  the  boy,  looking  from  one  to 
other  of  the  faces  about  him. 

"  No,  to  all,"  cried  Clutterbuck.  The  drink, 
and  a  certain  anger  of  which  we  did  not  know 
the  source,  made  him  obstinate.  "  You  shall  tell 
it  to  us  all,  or  not  at  all.  Bring  that  table,  forward, 
Macfarlane  !  You  shall  stand  on  the  table  Dick, 
like  a  preacher  in  his  pulpit,"  he  sneered,  "  and 
put  all  the  fine  gentlemen  to  shame,  with  a  story 
of  the  rustic  virtues." 

The  table  was  dragged  from  the  corner  into 
the  middle  of  the  room.  The  boy  protested,  and 
made  for  the  door.  But  he  was  thrust  back, 
seized  and  lifted  struggling  on  to  the  table,  where 
he  was  set  upon  his  feet. 

''  Harmony,  gentlemen,  harmony  !  "  cried  Clut- 


TELLS  OF  A  DOOR  AJAR  ii 

terbuck,  flapping  his  hand  upon  the  mantel- 
shelf. *'  Take  your  seats,  and  no  whispering  in 
the  side  boxes,  if  you  please.  For  I  can  promise 
you  a  play  which  needs  no  prologue  to  excuse  it." 

It  was  a  company  in  which  a  small  jest  passed 
easily  for  a  high  stroke  of  wit.  They  applauded 
Lieutenant  Clutterbuck's  sally,  and  drew  up 
their  chairs  round  the  table  and  sat  looking  up- 
wards towards  the  boy,  with  a  great  expectation 
of  amusement,  just  as  people  watch  a  bear-bait- 
ing at  a  fair.  For  my  part  I  had  not  moved,  and 
it  was  no  doubt  for  that  reason  that  Parmiter 
looked  for  help  towards  me. 

'*  When  all's  said,  Clutterbuck,"  I  began, 
"  you  and  your  friends  are  a  pack  of  bullies.  The 
boy's  a  good  boy,  devil  take  me  if  he  isn't." 

The  boy  upon  the  table  looked  his  gratitude 
for  the  small  mercy  of  my  ineffectual  plea,  and  I 
should  have  proceeded  to  enlarge  upon  it  had  I 
not  noticed  a  very  astonishing  thing.  For  Par- 
miter lifted  his  arm  high  up  above  his  head  as 
thought  to  impress  upon  me  his  gratitude,  and  his 
arm  lengthened  out  and  grew  until  it  touched 
the  ceiling.  Then  it  dwindled  and  shrank  until 
again  it  was  no  more  than  a  boy's  arm  on  a  boy's 
shoulder.      I    was    so   struck   with    this   curious 


12  THE  WATCHERS 

phenomenon  that  I  broke  off  my  protest  on  his 
behalf,  and  mentioned  to  those  about  me  what 
I  had  seen,  asking  whether  they  had  remarked 
it  too,  and  inquiring  to  what  cause,  whither  of 
health  or  malady,  they  were  disposed  to  attribute 
so  sudden  a  growth  and  contraction. 

However,  Lieutenant  Clutterbuck's  guests  were 
only  disposed  that  night  to  make  light  of  any 
subject  however  important  or  scientific.  For 
some  laughed  in  my  face,  others  more  polite, 
shrugged  their  shoulders  with  a  smile,  and  the 
stranger  who  had  spoken  to  me  before  clapped  his 
hand  in  the  small  of  my  back  as  I  leaned  forward, 
and  shouted  some  ill-bred  word  that,  though 
might  he  die  of  small-pox  if  he  had  ever  met  me 
before,  he  would  have  known  me  from  a  thousand 
by  the  tales  he  had  heard.  However,  before  I 
could  answer  him  fitly,  and  indeed,  while  I  was 
still  pondering  the  meaning  of  his  words.  Lieuten- 
ant Clutterbuck  clapped  his  hands  for  silence, 
and  Dick  Parmiter,  seeing  no  longer  any  hope  of 
succour,  perforce  began  to  tell  his  story. 

It  was  a  story  of  a  youth  that  sat  in  the  stocks 
of  a  Sunday  morning  and  disappeared  thereafter 
from  the  islands  ;  of  a  girl  named  Helen  ;  of  a 
negro  who  slept  and  slept,  and  of  men  watching 


TELLS  OF  A  DOOR  AJAR  13 

a  house  with  a  great  tangled  garden  that  stood 
at  the  edge  of  the  sea.  CuUen  Mayle,  Parmiter 
called  the  youth  who  had  sat  in  the  stocks,  son 
to  that  Adam  whose  death  had  so  taken  Lieuten- 
ant Clutterbuck  with  surprise.  But  I  could  not 
make  head  or  tail  of  the  business.  For  one  thing 
I  have  always  been  very  fond  of  flowers,  and 
quite  unaccountably  the  polished  floor  of  the 
room  blossomed  into  a  parterre  of  roses,  so  that 
my  attention  was  distracted  by  this  curious  and 
pleasing  event. 

For  another,  Parmiter's  story  was  continually 
interrupted  by  intricate  questions  intended  to 
confuse  him,  his  evident  anxiety  was  made  the 
occasion  of  much  amusement  by  those  seated 
about  the  table,  and  he  was  induced  on  one  ex- 
cuse and  another  to  go  back  to  the  beginning 
again  and  again  and  relate  once  more  what  he 
had  already  told.  But  I  remember  that  he  spoke 
with  a  high  intonation,  and  rather  quickly  and 
with  a  broad  accent,  and  that  even  then  I  was 
extremely  sensible  of  the  unfamiliar  parts  from 
which  he  came.  His  words  seemed  to  have  pre- 
served a  smell  of  the  sea,  and  through  them  I 
seemed  to  hear  very  clearly  the  sound  of  waves 
breaking  upon  a  remote  beach — near  in  a  word 


14  THE  WATCHERS 

to  that  granite  house  with  the  tangled  garden 
where  the  men  watched  and  watched. 

Then  the  boy's  story  ceased,  and  the  next  thing 
I  heard  was  a  sound  of  sobbing.  I  looked  up, 
and  there  was  Dick  Parmiter  upon  the  table,  cry- 
ing like  a  child.  Over  against  him  sat  Lieutenant 
Clutterbuck,  with  a  face  sour  and  dark. 

"  I'll  not  stir  a  foot  or  lift  a  finger,"  said  he, 
swearing  an  oath,  "  no,  not  if  God  comes  down 
and  bids  me." 

And  upon  that  the  boy  weakened  of  a  sudden, 
swayed  for  an  instant  upon  his  feet,  and  dropped 
in  a  huddle  upon  the  table.  His  swoon  put 
every  one  to  shame  except  Clutterbuck  ;  everyone 
busied  himself  about  the  boy,  dabbing  his  fore- 
head with  wet  handkerchiefs,  and  spilling  brandy 
over  his  face  in  attempts  to  pour  it  into  his  mouth 
— every  one  except  Clutterbuck,  who  never  moved 
nor  changed  in  a  single  line  of  his  face,  from  his 
fixed  expression  of  anger.  Dick  Parmiter  recov- 
ered from  his  swoon  and  sat  up :  and  his  first  look 
was  towards  the  lieutenant,  whose  face  softened 
for  an  instant  with  I  know  not  what  memories  of 
days  under  the  sun  in  a  fishing  boat  amongst  the 
islands. 

"  Dick,  you    are  over-tired.     It's  a  long    road 


TELLS  OF  A  DOOR  AJAR  15 

from  the  Scillies  to  London.  Very  like,  too, 
you  are  hungry,"  and  Dick  nodded  "  yes  "  to 
each  sentence.  "  Well,  Dick,  you  shall  eat  here, 
if  there's  any  food  in  my  larder,  and  you  shall 
sleep  here  when  you  have  eaten." 

"  Is  that  all  ? "  asked  Parmiter,  simply,  and 
Clutterbuck's  face  turned  hard  again  as  a  stone. 

"  Every  word,"  said  he. 

The  boy  slipped  off  the  table  and  began  to 
search  on  the  ground.  His  cap  had  fallen  from 
his  hand  when  he  fell  down  in  his  swoon.  He 
picked  it  up  from  beneath  a  chair.  He  did  not 
look  any  more  at  Clutterbuck  ;  he  made  no  appeal 
to  anyone  in  the  room  ;  but  though  his  legs  still 
faltered  from  weakness,  he  walked  silently  out  of 
the  door,  and  in  a  little  we  heard  his  footsteps 
upon  the  stone  stairs  and  the  banisters  creaking, 
as  though  he  clung  to  them,  while  he  descended, 
for  support. 

"  Good  God,  Clutterbuck  !  "  cried  Macfarlane 
"  he's  but  a  boy." 

"  With  no  roof  to  his  head,"  said  another. 

"  And  fainting  for  lack  of  a  meal,"  said  a  third. 

"  He  shall  have  both,"  I  cried,  "  if  he  will  take 
them  from  me,"  and  I  ran  out  of  the  door. 

"  Dick,"  I  cried  down  the  hollow  of  the  staircase. 


i6  THE  WATCHERS 

"  Dick  Parmiter,"  but  no  answer  was  returned, 
save  my  own  cry  coming  back  to  me  up  the 
well  of  the  stairs.  Clutterbuck's  rooms  were  on 
the  highest  floor  of  the  house  ;  the  stone  stairs 
stretched  downwards  flight  after  flight  beneath 
me.  There  was  no  sound  anywhere  upon  them  ; 
the  boy  had  gone.  I  came  back  to  the  room. 
Lieutenant  Clutterbuck  sat  quite  still  in  his  chair. 
The  morning  was  breaking ;  a  cold  livid  light 
crept  through  the  open  windows,  touched  his 
hands,   reached   his   face  and  turned  it  white. 

*'  Good-night,"  he  said,  without  so  much  as  a 
look. 

His  eyes  were  bent  upon  memories  to  which 
we  had  no  clue.  We  left  him  sitting  thus  and 
went  down  into  the  street,  when  we  parted.  I 
saw  no  roses  blossoming  in  the  streets  as  I  walked 
home,  but  as  I  looked  in  my  mirror  at  my  lodg- 
ing I  noticed  again  that  my  face  was  drawn  and 
haggard  and  a  million  years  old. 


CHAPTER  II 

DICK  PARMITER'S   STORY 

I  WOKE  up  at  mid-day,  and  lay  for  awhile  in  my 
bed  anticipating  wearily  the  eight  limping  hours 
to  come  before  the  evening  fell,   and  wondering 
how  I  might  best  escape  them.     From  that  debate 
my  thoughts  drifted  to  the  events  of  the  night 
before,   and  I  recollected  with  a  sudden  thrill  of 
interest,  rare  enough  to  surprise  me,  the  coming  of 
Dick  Parmiter,  and  his  treatment  at  Clutterbuck's 
hands  and  his  departure.      I  thought  of  his  long 
journey  to  London  along  strange  roads.     I  could 
see  him  tramping  the  dusty  miles,  each  step  lead- 
ino-  him  farther  from  that  small  corner  of  the  world 
with  which  alone  he  was  familiar.     I  imagined  him 
now  sleeping  beneath   a  hedge,  now  perhaps,  by 
some  rare  fortune,  in  one  of   Russell's  waggons 
with  the   Falmouth  mails,  which   at   nightfall  he 
had   overtaken,  and  from  which  at   daybreak  he 
would  descend  with  a  hurried  word  of  thanks  to 

2  17 


i8  THE  WATCHERS 

get  the  quicker  on  his  way  ;  I  pictured  him  pressing 
through  the  towns  with  a  growing  fear  at  his  heart, 
because  of  their  turmoil  and  their  crowds  ;  and  I 
thought  of  him  as  hungering  daily  more  and  more 
for  the  sea  which  he  had  left  behind,  like  a 
sheep-dog  which  one  has  taken  from  the  sheep  and 
shut  up  within  the  walls  of  a  city.  The  boy's 
spirit  appealed  to  me.  It  was  new,  it  was  admi- 
rable ;  and  I  dressed  that  day  with  an  uncommon 
alertness  and  got  me  out  to  Clutterbuck's  lodg- 
ings. 

I  found  the  lieutenant  in  bed  with  a  tankard  of 
small  ale  at  his  bedside.  He  looked  me  over 
with  astonishment. 

*'  I  wish  I  could  carry  my  liquor  as  well  as  you 
do,"  said  he,  taking  a  pull  at  the  tankard. 

"  Has  the  boy  come  back  ?  "  I  asked. 

''  What,  Dick?  "  said  he.  "  No,  nor  will  not.** 
And  changing  the  subject,  "  If  you  will  wait, 
Steve,  I  will  make  a  shift  to  get  up." 

I  went  into  his  parlour.  The  room  had  been 
put  into  some  sort  of  order  ;  but  the  shattered 
remnant  of  the  mirror  still  hung  between  the 
windows,  and  it  too  spoke  to  me  of  Dick's  journey. 
I  imagined  him  coming  to  the  great  city  at  the 
fall  of  night,  and  seeking  out  his  way  through  its 


DICK  PARMITER'S  STORY  19 

alleys  and  streets  to  Lieutenant  Clutterbuck's 
lodgings.  I  could  see  him  on  the  stairs  pausing 
to  listen  to  the  confusion  within  the  rooms,  and 
in  the  passage  opening  and  closing  the  door  as  he 
hesitated  whether  to  go  in  or  no.  I  became  all 
at  once  very  curious  to  know  what  the  errand  was 
which  had  pushed  him  so  far  from  his  home,  and 
I  cudgelled  my  brains  to  recollect  his  story.  But 
I  could  remember  only  the  youth  Cullen  Mayle, 
who  had  sat  in  the  stocks  on  a  Sunday  morning, 
and  the  girl  Helen,  and  a  negro  who  slept  and 
slept,  and  a  house  with  a  desolate  tangled  garden 
by  the  sea,  and  men  watching  the  house.  But 
what  bound  these  people  and  the  house  in  a  com- 
mon history,  as  to  that  I  was  entirely  in  the  dark. 

*'  Steve,"  said  Clutterbuck — I  had  not  remarked 
his  entrance — *'  you  look  glum  as  a  November 
morning.  Is  it  a  sore  head  ?  or  is  it  the  sight  of 
your  mischievous  handiwork  ?  "  and  he  pointed  to 
the  mirror. 

"  It's  neither  one  nor  the  other,"  said  I.  **  It's 
just  the  recollection  of  that  boy  fumbling  under 
the  table  for  his  cap,  and  dragging  himself  silently 
out  of  the  room,  with  all  England  to  tramp  and 
despair  to  sustain  him." 

*'  That  boy  !  "    cried    Clutterbuck,    with    great 


20  THE  WATCHERS 

exasperation.  "  Curse  you,  Berkeley.  That  boy's 
a  maggot,  and  has  crept  into  your  brains.  We'll 
talk  no  more  of  him,  if  you  please."  He  took  a 
pack  of  cards  from  a  corner  cupboard,  and,  toss- 
ing them  on  the  table,  "  Here,  choose  your  game 
I'll  play  what  you  will,  and  for  what  stakes  you 
will,  so   long  as  you  hold  your  tongue." 

It  w^as  plain  that  I  should  learn  nothing  by 
pressing  my  curiosity  upon  him.  I  must  go  an- 
other way  to  work.  But  chance  and  Lieutenant 
Clutterbuck  served  my  turn  without  any  provoca- 
tion from  myself. 

I  chose  the  game  of  picquet,  and  Clutterbuck 
shuffled  and  cut  the  cards ;  whereupon  I  dealt 
them.  Clutterbuck  looked  at  his  hand  fretfully, 
and  then  cried  out : 

'*  I  have  no  hand  for  picquet,  but  I  have  very 
good  putt  cards." 

I  glanced  through  the  cards  I  held. 

"  Make  it  putt,  then,"  said  I.  "  I  will  wager 
what  you  will  my  hand  is  the  better ;  "  and  Clut- 
terbuck broke  into  a  laugh  and  tossed  his  cards 
upon  the  table. 

**You  have  two  kings  and  an  ace,"  said  he, 
"  I  know  very  well  ;  but  I  have  two  kings  and  a 
deuce,  and  mine  are  the  better." 


DICK  PARMITER'S  STORY  21  , 

'*  It  is  a  bite,"  said  I. 

"  And  an  ingenious  one,"  he  returned.  "  It  was 
Cullen  Mayle  who  taught  it  to  us  in  the  mess  at 
Star  Castle.  For  packing  the  cards  or  knapping 
the  dice  I  never  came  across  his  equal.  Yet  we 
could  never  detect  him,  and  in  the  end  not  a  soul 
in  the  garrison  would  play  with  him  for  crooked 
pins." 

''  Cullen  Mayle,"  said  I  ;  "  that  was  Adam's 
son. 

Clutterbuck  had  sunk  into  something  of  a 
reverie,  and  spoke  rather  to  himself  than  to 
me. 

"  They  were  the  strangest  pair,"  he  continued  ; 
"you  would  never  take  them  for  father  and  son, 
and  I  myself  was  always  amazed  to  think  there 
was  any  relationship  between  them.  I  have  seen 
them  sitting  side  by  side  on  the  settle  in  the 
kitchen  of  the  "  Palace  Inn  "  at  Tresco.  Adam, 
an  old  bulky  fellow,  with  a  mulberry  face  and 
yellow  angry  eyes,  and  his  great  hands  and  feet 
twisted  out  of  all  belief.  His  stories  were  all  of 
wild  doings  on  the  Guinea  coast.  Cullen,  on  the 
other  hand,  was  a  stripling  with  a  soft  face  like  a 
girl's,  exquisite  in  his  dress,  urbane  in  his  manners. 
He   had  a  gentle  word    and  an  attentive  ear  for 


22  THE  WATCHERS 

each  newcomer  to  the  fire,  and  a  white  protest- 
ing hand  for  the  oaths  with  which  Adam  salted 
his  speech.  Yet  they  were  both  of  the  same 
vindictive,  turbulent  spirit,  only  Cujlen  was  the 
more  dangerous. 

"  I  have  watched  the  gannets  often  through 
an  afternoon  in  Hell  Bay  over  at  Brehar.  They 
would  circle  high  up  in  the  air  where  no  fish 
could  see  them,  and  then  slant  their  wings  and 
drop  giddily  with  the  splash  of  a  stone  upon  their 
prey.  They  always  put  me  in  mind  of  CuUen 
Mayle.  He  struck  mighty  quick  and  out  of  the 
sky.  I  cannot  remember,  during  all  the  ten  years 
I  lived  at  the  Scillies,  that  any  man  crossed 
CuUen  Mayle,  though  unwittingly,  but  some  odd 
accident  crippled  him.  He  was  the  more  danger- 
ous of  the  pair.  With  Adam  it  was  a  word  and 
a  blow.  With  Cullen  a  word  and  another  and 
another,  and  all  of  them  soft,  and  the  blow  held 
over  for  a  secret  occasion.  But  it  fell.  If  ever 
you  come  across  Cullen  Mayle,  Berkeley,  take 
care  of  your  words  and  your  deeds,  for  he  strikes 
out  of  the  sky  and  mighty  quick." 

This  Clutterbuck  said  with  an  extreme  earnest- 
ness, leaning  forward  to  me  as  he  spoke.  And 
even  now  I  can  but  put  it  down  to  his  earnestness 


DICK  PARMITER'S  STORY  23 

that  a  shiver  took  me  at  the  words  ;  for  nothing 
was  more  unlikely  than  that  I  should  ever  come 
to  grips  with  Cullen  Mayle,  and  the  next  moment 
I  answered  Clutterbuck  lightly. 

"Yet  he  sat  in  the  stocks  in  the  end,"  said  I, 
with  as  much  indifference  as  I  could  counterfeit ; 
for  I  was  afraid  lest  any  display  of  eagerness 
might  close  his  lips.  Lieutenant  Clutterbuck, 
however,  was  hardly  aware  that  he  was  being 
questioned.     He  laughed  with  a  certain  pleasure. 

"  Yes.  A  schooner,  with  a  cargo  of  brandy, 
came  ashore  on  Tresco.  Cullen  and  the  Tresco 
men  saved  the  cargo  and  hid  it  away,  and  when 
the  collector  came  over  with  his  men  from  the 
Customs  House  upon  St.  Mary's,  Cullen  drove  him 
back  to  his  boats  with  a  broken  head.  Cullen 
broke  old  Captain  Hathaway's  patience  at  the 
same  time.  Hathaway  took  off  his  silver  spec- 
tacles at  last  and  shut  up  his  Diodoriis  Siculus 
with  a  bang ;  and  so  Cullen  Mayle  sat  in  the 
stocks  before  the  Customs  House  on  the  Sunday 
morning.  He  left  the  islands  that  night.  That 
was  two  years  and  a  month  ago." 

*'  And  what  had  Dick  Parmiter  to  do  with 
Cullen  Mayle?"  said  I. 

"Dick?"    said    he.      "Oh,   Dick   was    Cullen 


24  THE  WATCHERS 

Mayle's  henchman.     But   It  seems  that  Dick  has 

transferred  his  allegiance  to "  And  he  stopped 

abruptly.     His  face  soured  as  he  stopped. 

"  To  the  girl  Helen  ?  *'  said  I,  quite  forgetting 
my  indifference. 

"  Yes  !  "  cried  Clutterbuck,  savagely,  *'  to  the 
girl  Helen.  He  is  fifteen  years  old  is  Dick. 
But  at  fifteen  years  a  lad  is  ripe  to  be  one  of 
Cupid's  April  fools."  And  after  that  he  would 
say  no  more. 

His  last  words,  however,  and,  more  than  his 
words,  the  tone  in  which  he  spoke,  had  given 
me  the  first  definite  clue  of  the  many  for  which 
my  curiosity  searched.  It  was  certainly  on  behalf 
of  the  girl,  whom  I  only  knew  as  Helen,  that  Dick 
had  undertaken  his  arduous  errand,  and  it  was  no 
less  certain  that  just  for  that  reason  Lieutenant 
Clutterbuck  had  refused  to  meddle  in  the  mat- 
ter. I  recognised  that  I  should  get  no  advan- 
tage from  persisting,  but  I  kept  close  to  his  side 
that  day  waiting  upon  opportunity. 

We  dined  together  at  Locket's,  by  Charing 
Cross  ;  we  walked  together  to  the  "  Cocoa  Tree  " 
in  St.  James's  Street,  and  passed  an  hour  or  so 
with  a  dice-box.  Clutterbuck  was  very  silent 
for  the  most  part.     He  handled  the  dice-box  with 


DICK  PARMITER'S  STORY  25 

indifference ;  and,  since  he  was  never  the  man  to 
keep  his  thoughts  for  any  long  time  to  himself,  I 
had  no  doubt  that  some  time  that  day  I  should 
learn  more.  Indeed,  very  soon  after  we  left  the 
**  Cocoa  Tree  "  I  thought  the  whole  truth  was 
coming  out ;  for  he  stopped  in  St.  James's  Park, 
close  to  the  Mall,  which  at  that  moment  was  quiet 
and  deserted.  We  could  hear  a  light  wind  rip- 
pling through  the  leaves  of  the  poplars,  and  a 
faint  rumble  of  carriages  lurching  over  the  stones 
of  Pall  Mall. 

"  It  is  very  like  the  sound  of  the  sea  on  a  still 
morning  of  summer,"  said  he,  looking  at  me  with 
a  vacant  eye,  and  I  wondered  whether  he  was 
thinking  of  a  tangled  garden  raised  above  a  beach 
of  sand,  wherein,  maybe,  he  had  walked,  and 
not  alone  on  some  such  day  as  this  two  years 
ago. 

We  crossed  the  water  to  the  Spring  Gardens  at 
Vauxhall,  where  we  supped.  I  was  now  fallen 
into  as  complete  a  silence  and  abstraction  as 
Clutterbuck  himself,  for  I  was  clean  lost  in  con- 
jectures, I  knew  something  now  of  Adam  Mayle 
and  his  son  Cullen,  but  as  to  Helen  I  was  in  the 
dark.  Was  her  name  Mayle  too  ?  Was  she  wife 
to  Cullen  ?     The  sight  of  Clutterbuck's  ill-humour 


26  THE  WATCHERS 

inclined  me  to  that  conjecture  ;  but  I  was  wrong, 
for  as  the  attendants  were  putting  out  the  Hghts 
in  the  garden  I  ventured  upon  the  question.  To 
my  surprise,  Clutterbuck  answered  me  with  a 
smile. 

"  Sure,"  said  he,  "  you  are  the  most  pertinacious 
fellow.  What's  come  to  you,  who  were  content 
to  drink  your  liquor  and  sit  on  one  side  while  the 
world  went  by  ?  No,  she  was  not  wife  to  CuUen 
Mayle,  nor  sister.  She  was  a  waif  of  the  sea. 
Adam  Mayle  picked  her  up  from  the  rocks  a  long 
while  since.  It  was  the  only  action  that  could  be 
counted  to  his  credit  since  he  came  out  of  no- 
where and  leased  the  granite  house  of  Tresco.  A 
barque — a  Venetian  vessel,  it  was  thought,  from 
Marseilles,  in  France,  for  a  great  deal  of  Castile 
soap,  and  almonds  and  oil  was  washed  ashore 
afterwards — drove  in  a  northwesterly  gale  on  to 
the  Golden  Bar  reef.  The  reef  runs  out  from  St. 
Helen's  Island,  opposite  Adam  Mayle's  window. 
Adam  put  out  his  lugger  and  crossed  the  sound, 
but  before  he  could  reach  St.  Helen's  the  ship 
went  down  into  fourteen  fathoms  of  water.  He 
landed  on  St.  Helen's,  however,  and  amongst  the 
rocks  where  the  reef  joins  the  land  he  came  across  a 
sailor,  who  lay  in  the  posture  of  death,  and  yet 


DICK  PARMITER'S  STORY  27 

wailed  like  a  hungry  child.  The  sailor  was  dead, 
but  within  his  jacket,  buttoned  up  on  his  breast, 
was  a  child  of  four  years  or  so.  Adam  took  her 
home.  No  one  ever  claimed  her,  so  he  kept  her, 
and  called  her  Helen  from  the  island  on  which  she 
was  wrecked.  That  was  a  long  time  since,  for  the 
girl  must  be  twenty." 

*'  Is  she  French  ?  "  I  asked. 

"  French,  or  Venetian,  or  Spanish,  or  what  you 
will,"  he  cried.  "  It  matters  very  little  what  coun- 
try a  woman  springs  from.  I  have  no  doubt  that  a 
Hottentot  squaw  will  play  you  the  same  tricks 
as  a  woman  of  fashion,  and  with  as  demure  a 
countenance.  Well,  it  seems  we  are  to  go  to  bed 
sober  ;  "  and  we  went  each  to  his  lodging. 

For  my  part,  I  lay  awake  for  a  long  time,  seek- 
ing to  weave  into  some  sort  of  continuous  story 
what  I  had  heard  that  day  from  Lieutenant  Clut- 
terbuck  and  the  scraps  which  I  remembered  of 
Parmiter's  talk.  But  old  Adam  Mayle,  who  was 
dead  ;  CuUen,  the  gannet  who  struck  from  the 
skies  ;  and  even  Helen,  the  waif  of  the  sea — these 
were  at  this  time  no  more  to  me  than  a  showman's 
puppets  ;  marionettes  of  sawdust  and  wood,  that 
faced  this  way  and  that  way  according  as  I  pulled 
the  strings.     The  one  being  who  had  life  was  the 


28  THE  WATCHERS 

boy  Parmiter,  with  his  jersey  and  his  red  fisher- 
man's bonnet ;  and  I  very  soon  turned  to  conjec- 
turing how  he  fared  upon  his  journey. 

Had  he  money  to  help  him  forward  ?  Had 
he  fallen  in  with  a  kindly  carrier?  How  far  had 
he  travelled  ?  I  had  no  doubt  that,  whether  he 
had  money  or  no,  he  would  reach  his  journey's 
end.  His  spirit  was  evident  in  the  resolve  to 
travel  to  London,  in  his  success,  and  in  the  con- 
cealment of  any  weakness  until  the  favour  he  asked 
for  had  been  refused. 

I  bought  next  morning  one  of  the  new  maps  of 
the  Great  West  Road  and  began  to  pick  off  the 
stages  of  his  journey.  This  was  the  second  day 
since  he  had  started.  He  would  not  travel  very 
fast,  having  no  good  nev/s  to  lighten  his  feet.  I 
reckoned  that  he  would  have  reached  the  "  Golden 
Farmer,"  and  I  made  a  mark  at  that  name  on  the 
map.  Every  day  for  a  week  I  kept  in  this  way 
an  imagined  tally  of  his  progress,  following  him 
from  county  to  county ;  and  at  the  end  of  the 
week,  coming  out  in  the  evening  from  my  lodging 
at  the  corner  of  St.  James's  Street,  I  ran  plump 
into  the  arms  of  the  gentleman  I  had  met  at 
Clutterbuck's,  and  whose  name  I  did  not  know. 
But   his  familiarity  was  all  gone  from  him.     He 


DICK  PARMITER'S  STORY  29 

bowed  to  me  stiffly,  and  would  have  passed  on,  but 
I  caught  him  by  the  arm. 

**  Sir,"  said  I,  "you  will  remember  a  certain 
night  when  I  had  the  honour  of  your  acquaint- 
ance." 

"  Mr.  Berkeley,"  he  returned  with  a  smile,  "  I 
remember  very  much  better  the  dreadful  morning 
which  followed  it." 

"  You  will  not,  at  all  events,  have  forgotten  the 
boy  whom  you  discovered  outside  the  door,  and 
if  you  can  repeat  the  story  which  he  told,  or  some 
portion  of  it,  I  shall  be  obliged  to  you." 

He  looked  at  his  watch. 

"  I  have  still  half  an  hour  to  spare,"  said  he ; 
and  he  led  the  way  to  the  "  Groom  Porters."  The 
night  was  young,  but  not  so  young  but  what  the 
Bassett-table  was  already  full.  We  sat  down  to- 
gether in  a  dark  corner  of  the  room,  and  my  com- 
panion told  me  what  he  remembered  of  Parmiter's 
story. 

It  appeared  that  Cullen  Mayle  had  quarrelled 
with  his  father  on  that  Sunday  night  after  he  had 
sat  in  the  stocks  and  had  left  the  house.  He  had 
never  returned.  A  year  ago  Adam  Mayle  had 
died,  bequeathing  his  fortune,  which  was  consider- 
able, and  most  of  it  placed  in  the  African  Com- 


30  THE  WATCHERS 

pany,  to  his  adopted  daughter  Helen.  She,  how- 
ever, declared  that  she  had  no  right  to  it,  that  it 
was  not  hers,  and  that  she  would  hold  it  in  trust 
until  such  time  as  Cullen  should  come  back  to 
claim  it. 

He  did  not  come  back,  as  has  been  said  ;  but 
eight  months  later  Dick  Parmiter,  on  an  occasion 
when  he  had  crossed  in  his  father's  fishing  boat 
to  Cornwall,  had  discovered  upon  Penzance  Quay 
a  small  crowd  of  loiterers,  and  on  the  ground 
amongst  them,  with  his  back  propped  against  a 
wall,  a  negro  asleep.  A  paper  was  being  passed 
from  hand  to  hand  among  the  group,  and  in  the 
end  it  came  to  Dick  Parmiter.  Upon  the  paper 
was  written  Adam  Mayle's  name  and  the  place  of 
his  residence,  Tresco,  in  the  Scilly  Islands ;  and 
Dick  at  once  recognised  that  the  writing  was  in 
Cullen  Mayle's  hand.  He  pushed  to  the  front  of 
the  group,  and  stooping  down,  shook  the  negro  by 
the   shoulder.     The   negro   drowsily  opened   his 

eyes. 

''You   come  from   Mr.  Cullen    Mayle?"   said 

Dick. 

"  Yes,"  said  the  negro,  speaking  in  English  and 

quite  clearly. 

"  You  have  a  n^essage  from  him  ?  " 


DICK  PARMITER'S  STORY  31 

"  Yes." 

"  What  is  It  ?  "  asked  Dick  ;  and  he  put  a  num- 
ber of  questions  eagerly.  But  in  the  midst  of 
them,  and  while  still  looking  at  Dick,  the  negro 
closed  his  eyes  deliberately  and  fell  asleep. 

"See,"  cried  a  sailor,  an  oldish  white-haired 
man,  with  a  French  accent ;  ''  that  is  the  way  with 
him.  He  came  aboard  with  us  at  the  port  of 
London  as  wide  awake  as  you  or  I.  Bound  for 
Penzance  he  was,  and  the  drowsiness  took  him 
the  second  day  out.  At  first  he  would  talk  a 
little ;  but  each  day  he  slept  more  and  more,  until 
now  he  will  say  no  more  than  a  *  Yes  '  or  a  *  No.* 
Why,  he  will  fall  asleep  over  his  dinner." 

Dick  shook  the  negro  again. 

"  Do  you  wish  to  cross  to  Tresco  ?  " 

**  Yes,"  said  the  negro. 

Dick  carried  him  back  to  Scilly  and  brought 
him  to  the  house  on  Tresco,  where  Helen  Mayle 
now  lived  alone.  But  no  news  could  be  got  from 
him.  He  would  answer  "  Yes  "  or  "  No  "  and  eat 
his  meals ;  but  when  it  came  to  a  question  of  his 
message  or  Cullen  Mayle's  whereabouts  he  closed 
his  eyes  and  fell  asleep.  Helen  judged  that  some- 
where Cullen  was  in  great  need  and  distress,  and 
because  she  held  his  money,  and  could  do  nothing 


S2  THE  WATCHERS 

to  succour  him,  she  was  thrown  into  an  extreme 
trouble.  There  was  some  reason  why  he  could 
not  come  to  Scilly  in  person,  and  here  at  her  hand 
was  the  man  sent  to  tell  the  reason ;  but  he  could 
not  because  of  his  mysterious  malady.  More 
than  once  he  tried  with  a  look  of  deep  sadness  in 
his  eyes,  as  though  he  was  conscious  of  his  help- 
lessness, but  he  never  got  beyond  the  first  word. 
His  eyelids  closed  while  his  mouth  was  still  open 
to  speak,  and  at  once  he  was  asleep.  His  pres- 
ence made  a  great  noise  amongst  the  islands ; 
from  Brehar,  from  St.  Mary's,  and  from  St.  Mar- 
tin's the  people  sailed  over  to  look  at  him.  But 
Helen,  knowing  CuUen  Mayle  and  fearing  the 
nature  of  his  misadventure,  had  bidden  Parmiter 
to  let  slip  no  hint  that  he  had  come  on  Cullen's 
account. 

So  the  negro  stayed  at  Tresco  and  spread  a 
great  gloom  throughout  the  house.  They  watched 
him  day  by  day  as  he  slept.  Cullen's  need  might 
be  immediate ;  it  might  be  a  matter  of  crime  ;  it 
might  be  a  matter  of  life  and  death.  The  gloom 
deepened  into  horror,  and  Helen  and  her  few 
servants,  and  Dick,  who  was  much  in  the  house, 
fell  into  so  lively  an  apprehension  that  the  mere 
creaking  of  a  door  would  make  them  start,  a  foot 


DICK  PARMITER'S  STORY  33 

crunching  on  the  sand  outside  sent  them  flying 
to  the  window.  So  for  a  month,  until  Dick 
Parmiter,  coming  over  the  hill  from  New  Grimsby 
harbour  at  night,  had  a  lantern  flashed  in  his  face, 
and  when  close  to  the  house  saw  a  man  spring  up 
from  the  gorse  and  watch  him  as  he  passed. 
From  that  night  the  house  was  continually  spied 
upon,  and  Helen  walked  continually  from  room 
to  room  wringing  her  hands  in  sheer  distraction 
at  her  helplessness.  She  feared  that  they  were 
watching  for  CuUen  ;  she  feared,  too,  that  Cullen, 
receiving  no  answer  to  his  message,  would  come 
himself  and  fall  into  their  hands.  She  dared 
hardly  conjecture  for  what  reason  they  were  watch- 
ing, since  she  knew  Cullen.  For  a  week  these  men 
watched,  five  of  them,  who  kept  their  watches  as 
at  sea ;  and  then  Dick,  taking  his  courage  in  his 
hands,  and  bethinking  him  of  Lieutenant  Clutter- 
buck,  who  had  been  an  assiduous  visitor  at  the 
house  on  Tresco,  had  crossed  over  to  St.  Mary's 
and  learned  from  old  Captain  Hathaway  where  he 
now  lived.  He  had  said  nothing  of  his  purpose  to 
Helen,  partly  from  a  certain  shyness  at  speaking 
to  her  upon  a  topic  of  some  delicacy,  and  partly 
lest  he  should  awaken  her  hopes  and  perhaps  only 
disappoint  them.  But  he  had  begged  a  passage 
3 


34  THE  WATCHERS 

in  a  ship  that  was  sailing  to  Cornwall,  and,  cross- 
ing thither  secretly,  had  made  his  way  in  six 
weeks  to  London. 

This  is  the  story  which  my  acquaintance  re- 
peated to  me  as  we  sat  in  the  "  Groom  Porters." 

"  And  Clutterbuck  refused  to  meddle  in  the 
matter,"  said  I.     "  Poor  lad  !  " 

I  was  thinking  of  Dick,  but  my  companion 
mistook  my  meaning,  for  he  glanced  thoughtfully 
at  me  for  a  second. 

"  I  think  you  are  very  right  to  pity  him,"  he 
said  ;  "  although,  Mr.  Berkeley,  if  you  will  pardon 
me,  I  am  a  trifle  surprised  to  hear  that  sentiment 
from  you.  It  is  indeed  a  sodden,  pitiful,  miser- 
able dog's  life  that  Clutterbuck  leads.  To  pass 
the  morning  over  his  toilette,  to  loiter  through 
the  afternoon  in  a  boudoir,  and  to  dispose  of  the 
evening  so  that  he  may  be  drunk  before  midnight  ! 
He  would  be  much  better  taking  the  good  air  into 
his  lungs  and  setting  his  wits  to  unknot  that 
tangle  amongst  those  islands  in  the  sea.  But  I 
have  overstayed  my  time.  If  you  can  persuade 
him  to  that,  you  will  be  doing  him  no  small  serv- 
ice;" and  politely  taking  his  leave,  he  went  out 
of  the  room. 

I  sat  for  some  while  longer  in  the  corner.     I 


DICK  PARMITER'S  STORY  35 

could  not  pretend .  that  he  had  spoken  anything 
but  truth,  but  I  found  his  words  none  the  less 
bitter  on  that  account.  A  pitiful  dog's  life  for 
Lieutenant  Clutterbuck,  who  was  at  the  most 
twenty-four  years  of  age !  What,  then,  was  it  for 
me,  who  had  seven  years  the  better  of  Lieutenant 
Clutterbuck,  or  rather,  I  should  say,  seven  years 
the  worse?  I  was  thirty-one  that  very  month, 
and  Clutterbuck's  sodden,  pitiful  life  had  been 
mine  for  the  last  seven  years.  An  utter  disgust 
took  hold  of  me  as  I  repeated  over  and  over  to 
myself  my  strange  friend's  words.  I  looked  at 
the  green  cloth  and  the  yellow  candles,  and  the 
wolfish  faces  about  the  cloth.  The  candles  had 
grown  soft  with  the  heat  of  the  night,  and  were 
bent  out  of  their  shape,  so  that  the  grease  dropped 
in  great  blots  upon  the  cloth,  and  the  air  was  close 
with  an  odour  of  stale  punch.  I  got  up  from  my 
corner  and  went  out  into  the  street,  and  stood  by 
the  water  in  St.  James's  Park,  If  only  some  such 
summons  had  come  to  me  when  I  was  twenty- 
four  as  had  now  come  to  Clutterbuck  ! — well, 
very  likely  I  should  have  turned  a  deaf  ear  to  it, 
even  as  he  had  done  !  And — and,  at  all  events, 
I  was  thirty-one  and  the  summons  had  not  come 
to  me,  and  there  was  an  end  of  the  matter.     To- 


36  THE  WATCHERS 

morrow  I  should  go  back  to  the  green  cloth  and 
not  trouble  my  head  about  the  grease  blots  ;  but 
to-night,  since  Clutterbuck  was  twenty-four,  I 
would  try  to  do  him  that  small  service  of  which 
the  stranger  spoke,  and  so  setting  out  at  a  round 
pace  I  made  my  way  to  Clutterbuck's  lodging. 


CHAPTER  III 

OF  THE  MAGICAL    INFLUENCE  OF  A  MAP 

I  DID  not,  however,  find  Lieutenant  Clutterbuck 
that  night.  He  was  out  of  reach,  and  likely  to 
remain  so  for  some  while  to  come.  He  had  left 
his  lodgings  at  mid  day  and  taken  his  body-servant 
with  him,  and  his  landlady  had  no  knowledge  of 
his  whereabouts.  I  thought  it  probable,  how- 
ever, that  some  of  his  friends  might  have  that 
knowledge,  and  I  thereupon  hurried  to  those 
haunts  v/here  of  an  evening  he  was  an  habitual 
visitor.  The  "  Hercules  Pillars "  in  Piccadilly, 
the  "Cocoa  Tree"  in  St.  James's  Street,  the 
"Spring  Gardens"  at  Vauxhall,  ''Barton's"  in 
King  Street,  the  "  Spread  Eagle "  in  Covent 
Garden, — I  hurried  from  one  to  the  other  of  these' 
places,  and  though  I  came  upon  many  of  Clutter- 
buck's  intimates,  not  one  of  them  was  a  whit 
better  informed  than   myself.     I  returned  to  my 

lodging  late  and  more  disheartened  than   I  could 

37 


38  THE  WATCHERS 

have  believed  possible  in  a  matter  wherein  I  had 
no  particular  concern.  And,  indeed,  it  was  not  so 
much  any  conjecture  as  to  what  strange  tragical 
events  might  be  happening  about  that  watched 
and  solitary  house  in  Tresco  which  troubled  me, 
or  even  pity  for  the  girl  maddened  by  her  fears, 
or  regret  that  I  had  not  been  able  to  do  Clutter- 
buck  that  slight  service  which  I  purposed.  But  I 
took  out  the  map  of  the  Great  West  Road,  and 
thought  of  the  lad  Parmiter  trudging  along  it, 
doing  a  day's  work  here  among  the  fields,  begging 
a  lift  there  upon  a  waggon  and  slowly  working  his 
way  down  into  the  West.  I  had  a  very  clear 
picture  of  him  before  my  eyes.  The  day  was 
breaking,  I  remember,  and  I  blew  out  the  candles 
and  looked  out  of  the  window  down  the  street. 
The  pavement  was  more  silent  at  that  hour  than 
those  country  roads  on  which  he  might  now  be 
walking,  or  that  hedge  under  which  he  might  be 
shaking  the  dew  from  off  his  clothes.  For  there 
the  thrush  would  be  calling  to  the  blackbird  with 
an  infinite  bustle  and  noise,  and  the  fields  of  corn 
would  be  whispering  to  the  fields  of  wheat. 

I  came  back  again  to  my  map,  and  while  the 
light  broadened,  followed  Parmiter  from  the  out- 
set of  his  journey,  through   Knightsbridge,  along 


MAGICAL  INFLUENCE  OF  A  MAP     39 

the  Thames,  between  the  pine-trees  of  Hampshire, 
past  Whitchurch,  and  into  the  county  of  Devon. 
The  road  was  unwound  before  my  eyes  Hke  a 
tape.  I  saw  it  slant  upwards  to  the  brow  of  a 
hill,  and  dip  into  the  cup  of  a  valley;  here  through 
a  boskage  of  green  I  saw  a  flash  of  silver  where 
the  river  ran  ;  there  between  flat  green  fields  it 
lay,  a  broad  white  line  geometrically  straight  to 
the  gate  of  a  city  ;  it  curved  amongst  the  churches 
and  houses,  but  never  lost  itself  in  that  labyrinth, 
aiming  with  every  wind  and  turn  at  that  other 
gate,  from  which  it  leaped  free  at  last  to  the  hills. 
And  always  on  the  road  I  saw  Dick  Parmiter, 
drunk  with  fatigue,  tottering  and  stumbling  down 
to  the  West. 

For  awhile  he  occupied  that  road  alone  ;  but  in 
the  end  I  saw  another  traveller  a  long  way  behind 
— a  man  on  horseback,  who  spurred  out  from 
London  and  rode  with  the  speed  of  the  wind. 
For  a  little  I  watched  that  rider,  curious  only  to 
discern  how  far  he  travelled,  and  whether  he 
would  pass  Dick  Parmiter ;  then,  as  I  saw  him 
drawing  nearer  and  nearer,  devouring  the  miles 
which  lay  between,  it  came  upon  me  slowly  that 
he  was  riding  not  to  pass  but  to  overtake  ;  and  at 
once  the   fancy  flashed  across  me   that  this  was 


40  THE  WATCHERS 

Clutterbuck.  I  gazed  at  my  map  upon  the  table 
as  one  might  gaze  into  a  magician's  globe.  It 
was  no  longer  a  map  ;  it  was  the  road  itself  im- 
prisoned in  hedges,  sunlit,  and  chequered  with  the 
shadows  of  trees.  I  could  see  the  horseman,  I 
could  see  the  dust  spirting  up  from  beneath  his 
horse's  hoofs  like  smoke  from  a  gun-barrel.  Only 
his  hat  was  pushed  down  upon  his  brows  because 
of  the  wind  made  by  the  speed  of  his  galloping, 
so  that  I  could  not  see  his  face.  But  it  was 
Clutterbuck  I  had  no  doubt.  Whither  had  he 
gone  from  his  lodging  ?  Now  I  was  convinced 
that  I  knew.  There  had  been  no  need  of  my 
night's  wanderings  from  tavern  to  tavern,  had  I 
but  looked  at  my  map  before.  It  was  Clutter- 
buck without  a  doubt.  At  some  bend  of  the 
road  he  would  turn  in  his  saddle  to  look  back- 
wards, and  I  should  recognise  his  face.  It  was 
Lieutenant  Clutterbuck,  taking  the  good  air  into 
his  lungs  with  a  vengeance.  He  vanished  into  a 
forest,  but  beyond  the  forest  the  road  dipped 
down  a  bank  of  grass  and  lay  open  to  the  eye. 
I  should  see  him  in  a  second  race  out,  his  body 
bent  over  his  horse's  neck  to  save  him  from  the 
swinging  boughs.  I  could  have  clapped  my 
hands   with  sheer   pleasure.     I  wished   that   my 


MAGICAL  INFLUENCE  OF  A  MAP     41 

voice  could  have  reached  out  to  Parmiter,  tramp- 
ing wearily  so  far  beyond  ;  in  my  excitement,  I 
believed  that  it  would,  and  before  I  knew  what  I 
did,  I  cried  out  aloud  : 

"  Parmiter!  Parmiter!  "  and  a  voice  behind  me 
answered  : 

"  You  must  be  mad,  Berkeley  !  What  in  the 
world  has  come  to  you  ?  " 

I  sat  upright  in  my  chair.  The  excitement  died 
out  of  me  and  left  me  chilly.  I  looked  about  me  ; 
I  was  in  my  own  lodging  at  the  corner  of  St 
James's  Street,  outside  in  the  streets  the  world 
was  beginning  to  wake,  and  the  voice  which  had 
spoken  to  me  and  the  hand  which  was  now  laid 
upon  my  shoulder  were  the  voice  and  the  hand  of 
Lieutenant  Clutterbuck. 

"  What's  this?  "  said  he,  leaning  over  my  shoul- 
der.    ''  It  is  a  map." 

"  Yes,"  I  answered,  "  it  is  a  mere  map,  the  map 
of  the  Great  West  Road  ;  "  and  in  my  eyes  it  was  no 
longer  any  more  than  a  map. 

Clutterbuck,  who  was  holding  it  in  his  hand, 
dropped  it  with  a  movement  and  an  exclamation 
of  anger.  Then  he  looked  curiously  at  me,  stepped 
over  to  the  sideboard  and  took  up  a  glass  or  two 
which  stood  there.     The  glasses  were   clean  and 


42  THE  WATCHERS 

dry.  He  looked  at  me  again,  his  curiosity  had 
grown  into  uneasiness  ;  he  walked  to  the  opposite 
side  of  the  table,  and  drawing  up  a  chair  seated 
himself  face  to  face  with  me. 

^'  I  hoped  you  were  drunk,"  said  he.  ''  But  it 
seems  you  are  as  sober  as  a  bishop.  Are  you 
daft,  then  ?  Has  it  come  to  a  strait-waistcoat? 
I  come  back  late  from  Twickenham.  I  stopped 
at  the  Hercules  Pillars."  There  I  heard  that  you 
had  rushed  in  two  hours  before  in  a  great  flurry 
and  disorder,  crying  out  that  you  must  speak  to 
me  on  the  instant.  The  same  story  was  told  to  me 
at  the  '  Cocoa  Trees.'  My  landlady  repeated  it. 
I  conjectured  that  it  must  needs  be  some  little 
affair  to  be  settled  with  sharps  at  six  in  the  morn- 
ing ;  and  so  that  you  might  not  say  your  friends 
neglect  you,  I  turn  from  my  bed,  and  hurry  to  you 
at  three  o'clock  of  the  morning.  I  find  that  you 
have  left  your  front-door  unlatched  for  any  thief 
that  wills  to  make  his  profit  of  the  house.  I  come 
into  your  room  and  find  you  bending  over  a  map 
in  a  great  excitement  and  crying  out  aloud  that 
damned  boy's  name.  Is  he  to  trouble  my  peace  un- 
til the  Judgment  Day  ?  Are  you  daft,  eh,  Steve  ?  " 
and  he  reached  his  hand  across  the  table  not  un- 
kindly, and  laid  it  on  my  sleeve.     Are  you  daft  ?  " 


MAGICAL  INFLUENCE  OF  A  MAP     43 

I  was  staring  again  at  the  map,  and  did  not  an- 
swer him.  He  shifted  his  hand  from  my  sleeve 
and  took  it  up  and  away  from  my  eyes.  He  looked 
at  it  himself,  and  then  spoke  slowly,  and  in  quite 
a  different  voice  : 

*'  It  is  a  curious,  suggestive  thing,  the  map  of  a 
road,  when  all's  said,"  he  observed  slowly.  "  I'll 
not  deny  but  what  it  seizes  one's  fancies.  Its 
simple  lines  and  curves  call  up  I  know  not  what 
pictures  of  flowering  hedgerows  ;  a  little  black 
blot  means  a  village  of  stone  cottages,  very  likely 
overhung  with  ivy  and  climbed  upon  with  roses." 
He  suddenly  thrust  the  map  again  under  my  nose, 
"What  do  you  see  upon  the  road  ?  "  said  he. 

**  Parmiter,"  I  answered. 

"  Of  course,"  he  interrupted  sharply.  "  Well, 
where  is  Parmiter?"  and  I  laid  a  finger  on  the 
map. 

"  Between  Fenny  Bridges  and  Exeter,"  said  he, 
leaning  forward.     "  He  has  made  great  haste." 

He  spoke  quite  seriously,  not  questioning  my 
conjecture,  but  accepting  it  as  a  mere  statement  of 
fact. 

"  That  is  a  heath  ?  "  he  asked,  pointing  to  an 
inch  or  so  where  the  map  was  shaded  on  each  side 
of  the  high-road.     "  Yes,  a  heath  t'other  side  of 


44  THE  WATCHERS 

Hartley  Row ;  I  know  it.  There  should  be  a 
mail-coach  there,  and  the  horses  out  of  the  shafts, 
and  one  or  two  men  in  crape  masks  and  a  lady  in 
a  swoon,  and  the  driver  stretched  in  the  middle  of 
the  road  with  a  bullet  through  his  crop/' 

"  I  do  not  see  that,"  I  returned.  "  But  here, 
beyond  Axminster " 

"Well?" 

He  leaned  yet  further  forward. 

"  There  is  a  forest  here." 

''Yes." 

"  I  saw  a  man  on  horseback  ride  into  it  between 
the  trees.     He  has  not  as  yet  emerged  from  it." 

"  Who  was  he  ?     Did  you  know  him  ?  " 

*'  I  thought    I   did.     But  I   could   not  see   his 

face." 

Clutterbuck  watched  that  forest  eagerly,  and 
with  a  queer  suspense  in  his  attitude  and  even  in 
his  breathing.  Every  now  and  then  he  raised  his 
eyes  to  mine  with  a  question  in  them.  Each  time 
I  shook  my  head,  and  answered  : 

"  Not  yet,"  and  we  both  again  stared  at  the 
map. 

Then  Clutterbuck  whispered  quickly  : 

"  What  if  his  horse  had  stumbled  ?  What  if  he 
is  lying  there  at  the  roadside  beneath  the  tree  ?  " 


MAGICAL  INFLUENCE  OF  A  MAP     45 

He  tore  himself  away  from  the  contemplation  of 
the  map.  "  The  thing's  magical !  "  he  cried.  ''  It 
has  bewitched  you,  Steve,  and  by  the  Lord  it  has 
come  near  to  bewitching  me  !  " 

*'  I  thought  the  horseman  was  yourself.  Why 
don't  you  go?  "  said  I,  pointing  to  the  map. 

Lieutenant  Clutterbuck  rose  impatiently  from 
his  chair. 

''  There  must  be  an  end  of  this.  Once  for  all 
I  will  not  go.  There  is  no  reason  I  should.  There 
is  reason  why  I  should  not.  You  do  not  know  in 
what  you  are  meddling.  You  are  taken  like  a 
schoolboy  by  an  old  wife's  tale  of  a  lonely  girl 
trapped  in  a  net.  You  are  too  old  for  such 
follies." 

"  I  was  too  old  a  fortnight  ago,"  I  returned, 
"  but,  by  the  Lord,  these  last  days  I  have  grown 
young  again — so  young  that " 

I  stopped  suddenly.  Not  until  this  instant  had 
the  notion  occurred  to  me,  but  it  came  now,  it 
thrilled  through  me  with  a  veritable  shock.  I 
leaned  back  in  my  chair  and  stared  at  Clutterbuck. 
He  understood,  for  he  in  his  turn  stared  at  me. 

"  The  rider !  "  said  he  breathlessly,  tapping  the 
map  with  his  forefinger,  ''the  man  whose  face  you 
did  not  see !  " 


46  THE  WATCHERS 

I  nodded  at  him. 

"  What  if  the  face  were  mine  ?  "  said  I. 

"You  could  never  believe  it." 

"  I  believe  that  I  have  even  enough  youth  for 
that,"  I  cried,  and  I  bent  over  the  map,  trying 
again  to  fashion  from  its  plain  black  and  white  my 
picture  of  the  great  high-road,  climbing  and  wind- 
ing through  a  country-side  rich  with  all  the  colours 
of  the  summer.  But  it  was  only  a  map  of  lines 
and  curves,  nor  could  I  any  longer  discover  the 
horseman  who  spurred  along  it — though  I  had 
now  a  particular  reason  to  wish  for  a  view  of 
his  face, — or  the  wood  into  which  he  disap- 
peared. 

"  Well,  has  your  cavalier  galloped  into  the  open 
yet  ?  "  asked  Clutterbuck. 

He  spoke  with  sarcasm,  but  the  sarcasm  was 
forced.  It  was  but  a  cloak  to  cover  and  excuse 
the  question. 

I  shook  my  head. 

"  No,  and  he  will  not,"  said  Clutterbuck. 

"  Is  that  so  sure  ?  "  I  asked.  *'  What  if  the  face 
were  mine  ?  " 

"  You  are  serious  !  "  he  cried.  "  You  would  go 
a  stranger  and  offer  your  unsought  aid  ?  It  would 
be  an  impertinence." 


MAGICAL  INFLUENCE  OF  A  MAP    47 

"  Suppose  life  and  death  are  in  the  balance, 
would  they  weigh  impertinence  ?  " 

''  It  might  h&  yoiLT  life  dind  your  death  !  " 

And  as  he  spoke,  it  seemed  to  me  that  all  my 
last  seven  years  rose  up  in  their  shrouds  and 
laughed  at  him. 

"And  what  then?"  I  cried.  "  Would  the  world 
shiver  if  1  died  ?  Would  even  a  tavern-keeper 
draw  down  his  blinds  ?  Perhaps  some  drunkard 
in  his  cups  would  wish  I  lived,  that  he  might  take 
my  measure  in  a  drinking-bout.  There's  my 
epitaph  for  you  !  Good  Lord,  Clutterbuck,  but  I 
would  dearly  love  to  die  a  clean  death  !  There's 
that  boy  Parmiter  tramping  down  his  road.  He 
does  a  far  better  thing  than  I  have  ever  done. 
You  know !  Why  talk  of  it  ?  You  know  the  life 
I  have  lived,  and  since  that  boy  flung  his  example 
in  my  eyes,  upon  my  word  I  sicken  to  think  of  it. 
Twelve  years  ago,  Clutterbuck,  I  came  to  London, 
a  cadet  with  a  cadet's  poor  portion,  but  what  a 
wealth  of  dreams  !  A  fortune  first,  if  I  slaved  till 
I  was  forty,  and  then  I  would  set  free  my  soul 
and  live  !  The  fortune  came,  and  I  slaved  but 
six  years  for  it.  The  treaty  of  Aix  and  a  rise  of 
stocks,  and  there  was  my  fortune.  You  know 
how  I  have  lived  since." 


48  THE  WATCHERS 

Clutterbuck  looked  at  me  curiously.  I  had 
never  said  so  much  to  him  or  to  any  man  in  this 
strain.  Nor  should  I  have  said  so  much  now,  but 
I  was  fairly  shaken  out  of  my  discretion.  For  a 
little  Clutterbuck  sat  silent  and  motionless.  Then 
he  said  gently : 

"  Shall  I  tell  you  why  I  will  not  go  ?  Yes,  I 
will  tell  you,"  and  he  told  me  the  history  of  that 
Sunday,  two  years  ago,  when  Cullen  Mayle  sat  in 
the  stocks,  or  at  least  as  much  of  it  as  had  come 
within  his  knowledge.  The  events  of  that  day 
were  the  beginning  of  all  the  trouble,  indeed,  but 
Lieutenant  Clutterbuck  never  knew  more  of  it 
than  what  concerned  himself,  and  as  I  sat  over 
against  him  on  that  July  morning  and  listened  to 
his  story  while  the  world  awoke,  I  had  no  suspi- 
cion of  what  the  passage  of  that  Sunday  hid,  or  of 
the  extraordinary  consequences  which  it  brought 
about. 


CHAPTER  IV 

DESCRIBES  THE  REMARKABLE  MANNER  IN  WHICH 
CULLEN  MAYLE  LEFT  TRESCO 

"  It  was  my  business,"  he  began,  "  to  fetch 
Cullen  Mayle  from  Tresco  over  to  St.  Mary's 
where  the  stocks  were  set.  It  was  an  unpleasant 
business,  and  to  me  doubly  and  damnably  un- 
pleasant." 

"  I  understand !  "  said  I,  thinking  of  how  he 
had  before  spoken  to  me  of  Adam  Mayle's  adopt- 
ed daughter. 

"  I  took  a  file  of  Musquets,  found  the  three  of 
them  at  breakfast,  and,  with  as  much  delicacy 
as  I  could,  explained  my  errand.  Helen  alone 
showed  any  distress  or  consciousness  of  disgrace. 
Cullen  strolled  to  the  window,  and  seeing  that  I 
had  placed  my  men  securely  about  the  house 
and  that  my  boat  was  ready  on  the  sand  not  a 
dozen  yards  away,  professed  himself,  with  an  in- 
imitable indifference,  wiUing  to  gratify  my  wishes  ; 
4  49 


50  THE  WATCHERS 

while  Adam,  so  far  from  manifesting  any  anger, 
broke  out  into  a  great  roar  of  laughter. 

"  '  Cullen,  my  boy,'  he  shouted,  like  a  man 
highly  pleased,  *  here's  a  nasty  stumble  for  your 
pride.  To  sit  in  the  stocks  of  a  Sunday  morning, 
when  all  the  girls  can  see  you  as  they  come  from 
church !  To  sit  in  the  stocks  like  a  common 
drunkard ;  and  you  that  sets  up  for  a  gentleman  ! 
Oh,  Cullen,  Cullen  ! '  He  wagged  his  head  from 
side  to  side,  and  so  brought  his  fist  upon  the  table 
with  a  bang  which  set  all  the  plates  dancing. 
*  Devil  damn  me,*  said  he,  '  if  I  don't  sail  to  church 
at  St.  Mary's  myself  and  see  how  you  look  in  your 
wooden  garters.'  Cullen  glanced  carelessly  to- 
wards me.  '  An  unseemly  old  man,'  said  he  ;  and 
we  left  Adam  still  shaking  like  a  monstrous  jelly- 
fish, and  crossed  back  to  St.  Mary's  from  Tresco. 

"  Sure  enough  Adam  kept  his  word.  They 
were  singing  the  Ntmc  Dimittis  in  the  church  when 
Adam  stumped  up  the  aisle.  He  had  brought 
Helen  with  him,  and  she  looked  as  though  she 
wished  the  brick  floor  to  open  and  let  her  out  of 
sight.  But  Adam  kept  his  head  erect  and  showed 
a  face  of  an  extraordinary  good  humour.  You  may 
be  certain  that  the  parson  got  the  scantiest  atten- 
tion imaginable  to  his  discourse.     For  one  thing, 


CULLEN  MAYLE  51 

Adam  Mayle  had  never  set  foot  in  St.  Mary's 
Church  before,  and  for  another,  every  one  was 
agog  to  see  how  he  would  bear  himself  after- 
wards, when  he  passed  on  his  way  to  the  quay 
across  the  little  space  before  the  Customs  House. 

"  There  was  a  rush  to  the  church  door  as  soon 
as  the  benediction  was  pronounced,  and  it  hap- 
pened that  I  was  one  of  the  last  to  come  out  of 
the  porch.  The  first  thing  that  I  saw  was  Adam 
walking  a  little  way  apart  amongst  the  grave- 
stones with  a  stranger,  and  the  next  thing,  Helen 
talking  to  Dick  Parmiter." 

Here  I  interrupted  Clutterbuck,  for  I  was  anx- 
ious to  let  no  detail  escape  me. 

"  Had  Dick  crossed  with  Adam  Mayle  from 
Tresco  ?  " 

"  I  think  not,"  returned  Clutterbuck.  "  He  was 
not  in  the  church.  I  do  not  know,  but  I  fancy  he 
brought  the  stranger  over  to  St.  Mary's  after- 
wards." 

"  And  who  was  this  stranger  ?  " 

"  George  Glen  he  called  himself,  and  said  he 
had  been  quartermaster  with  Adam  Mayle  at 
Whydah.  He  was  a  squat,  tarry  man,  of  Adam's 
age  or  thereabouts,  and  the  pair  of  them  walked 
through  the  gates  and  crossed  the  fields  over  to 


52  THE  WATCHERS 

the  street  of  Hugh  Tovvai.  I  made  haste  to  join 
Helen,"  Clutterbuck  continued,  and  explained  his 
words  with  an  unnecessary  confusion.  "  I  mean, 
I  would  not  have  it  appear  that  she  shared  in  the 
disgrace  which  had  befallen  Cullen  Mayle.  So  I 
walked  with  her,  and  we  followed  Adam  down  the 
street  to  the  Customs  House,  where  it  seemed 
every  inhabitant  was  loitering,  and  where  Cullen 
sat,  with  his  hat  cocked  forward  over  his  forehead 
to  shield  him  from  the  sun,  entirely  at  his  ease. 

"  It  was  curious  to  observe  the  behaviour  of  the 
loiterers.  Some  affected  not  to  see  Cullen  at  all ; 
some,  but  those  chiefly  maidens,  protested  that  it 
was  a  great  shame  so  fine  a  gentleman  should  be 
so  barbarously  used.  The  elders  on  the  other 
hand  answered  that  he  had  come  over  late  to  his 
deserts,  while  a  few,  with  a  ludicrous  pretence  of 
unconsciousness,  bowed  and  smiled  at  him  as 
though  it  was  the  most  natural  thing  in  the  world 
for  a  man  in  a  laced  coat  to  take  the  air  in  the 
stocks  of  a  Sunday  morning. 

"  Into  the  midst  of  this  group  marched  Adam 
Mayle,  and  came  to  a  halt  before  his  son.  He 
had  composed  his  face  to  an  unexceptionable 
gravity,  and  as  he  prodded  thoughtfully  with  his 
stick  at  the  sole  of  CuUen's  shoe, 


CULLEN  MAYLE  53 

"  'This  is  the  first  time,'  he  said,  'that  ever  I 
saw  a  pair  of  silk  stockings  in  the  stocks.' 

'' '  One  lives  and  learns,'  replied  CuUen,  indif- 
ferently ;  and  the  old  man  lifted  his  nose  into  the 
air  and  said  dreamily  : 

"  '  There  is  a  ducking-chair,  is  there  not,  at  the 
pier  head  ? '  and  so  walked  on  to  the  steps  where 
his  boat  was  moored.  He  went  down  into  it  with 
Mr.  Glen,  and  the  two  men  set  about  hoisting 
the  sail.  I  was  still  standing  on  the  pier  with 
Helen. 

"  '  You  will  come  too  ?  '  she  said  with  a  sort  of 
appeal.  *  I  do  not  know  what  may  happen  when 
CuUen  is  set  free  and  comes  back,  I  should  be 
very  glad  if  you  would  come.'  " 

Lieutenant  Clutterbuck  broke  off  his  story  and 
walked  uneasily  once  or  twice  across  the  room  as 
though  he  was  troubled  even  now  with  the  recol- 
lection of  her  appeal  and  of  how  she  looked  when 
she  made  it. 

"  So  I  went,"  he  continued  suddenly,  and  with 
a  burst  of  frankness.  "  You  see,  Steve,  she  and  I 
were  very  good  friends  ;  I  never  saw  anything  but 
welcome  in  her  eyes  when  I  crossed  over  to 
Tresco,  and  the  kindliness  of  her  voice  had  a 
warmth,  and  at  times  a  tenderness,  which  I  hoped 


54  THE  WATCHERS 

meant  more  than  friendship.  Indeed,  I  would 
have  staked  my  life  she  was  ignorant  of  du- 
plicity ;  and  with  Cullen  she  seemed  always  at 
some  pains  to  conceal  a  repugnance.  Well,  I  was 
young,  I  suppose  ;  I  saw  with  the  eyes  of  youth, 
which  see  everything  out  of  its  due  proportion. 
I  crossed  to  Tresco,  and  while  we  were  seated  at 
dinner,  about  two  hours  later,  Cullen  Mayle 
strolled  in  and  took  his  chair.  Dick  Parmiter  had 
waited  for  him  at  St.  Mary's  until  such  time  as  he 
was  set  free,  and  had  brought  him  across  the 
Road. 

"  I  cannot  deny  but  what  Cullen  Mayle  bore 
himself  very  suitably  for  the  greater  part  of  the 
time  we  were  at  table.  Adam's  blatant  jests  were 
enough  to  set  any  man's  teeth  on  edge,  yet  Cullen 
made  as  though  he  did  not  hear  a  word  of  them, 
and  talked  politely  upon  indifferent  topics  to  us 
and  Mr.  Glen.  Adam,  however,  was  not  to  be 
silenced  that  way.  His  banter  became  coarse  and 
vindictive ;  for  one  thing  he  had  drunk  a  deal  of 
liquor,  and  for  another  he  was  exasperated  that 
he  could  not  provoke  his  son.  I  forget  what 
particular  joke  he  roared  out  from  the  head  of  the 
table,  but  I  saw  Cullen  stretch  his  arm  out  over 
the  cloth. 


CULLEN  MAYLE  55 

** '  I  see  what  is  amiss/  he  said,  wearily,  and 
took  away  the  brandy  bottle  from  his  father's 
elbow.  He  went  to  the  window,  and  opening  it, 
emptied  the  bottle  on  to  the  grass  beneath  the 
sill.  Then  he  came  back  to  his  seat  and  said 
suavely  to  Mr.  Glen  :  '  My  father  cannot  get  the 
better  of  his  old  habits  ;  he  is  drunk  very  early  on 
Sundays — an  unregenerate  old  put  of  a  fellow  as 
ever  I  came  across.' 

*'  The  quarrel  followed  close  upon  the  heels  of 
that  sentence,  and  occupied  the  afternoon  and 
was  renewed  at  supper.  Adam  very  violent  and 
blustering ;  CuUen  very  cool  and  composed,  and 
only  betraying  his  passion  by  the  whiteness  of 
his  face.  He  used  no  oaths  ;  he  sat  staring  at  his 
father  with  his  dark  sleepy  eyes,  and  languidly 
accused  him  of  every  crime  in  the  Newgate  Cal- 
endar, with  a  great  deal  of  detail  as  to  time  and 
place,  and  adding  any  horrible  detail  which  came 
into  his  mind.  The  old  man  was  routed  at  the 
last.  About  the  middle  of  supper  he  got  up  from 
his  chair,  and  going  up  the  stairs  shut  himself  into 
a  room  which  he  had  fitted  up  as  a  cabin,  and  where 
he  was  used  to  sit  of  an  evening. 

"  We  were  all,  as  you  may  guess,  inexpressibly 
relieved  when  Adam  left  the  parlour,  for  here  it 


56  THE  WATCHERS 

seemed  was  the  quarrel  ended.  We  counted,  how- 
ever, without  CuUen.  He  looked  for  a  moment 
or  two  at  his  father's  empty  chair,  and  stood  up  in 
his  turn. 

" '  Here's  an  old  rogue  for  you/  he  said  in  a 
gentle  voice.  *  He  has  no  more  manners  than  a 
nasty  pig.  I'll  teach  him  some,'  and  he  followed 
his  father  up  the  stairs  and  into  the  cabin  above. 
What  was  said  between  them  we  never  heard, 
but  we  gathered  at  the  foot  of  the  stairs  in  the 
hall  and  listened  to  their  voices.  The  old  man 
bellowed  as  though  he  was  in  pain,  and  shook  the 
windows  with  his  noise ;  CuUen's  voice  came  to 
us  only  as  a  smooth,  continuous  murmur.  For 
half  an  hour  perhaps  we  stood  thus  in  the  hall — 
interference  would  have  only  made  matters  worse 
— and  I  own  that  this  half  hour  was  not  wholly 
unpleasant  to  me.  Helen,  in  a  word,  was  afraid, 
and  more  than  once  her  hand  was  laid  upon  my 
coat-sleeve,  and,  touching  it,  ceased  to  tremble. 
She  turned  to  me,  it  seemed,  in  that  half  hour  of 
fear  ;  I  was  fool  enough  to  think  it. 

"  At  length  we  heard  a  door  opening.  Cullen 
negligently  came  down  the  stairs  ;  Adam  rushed 
out  after  him  as  far  as  the  head  of  the  stairs, 
where  he  stopped. 


CULLEN  MAYLE  57 

'* '  Open  the  door,  one  of  you  ! '  he  bawled. 
*  Kick  him  out,  Clutterbuck,  and  we'll  see  what 
damned    muck-heap    his    fine  manners  will    lead 

him  to.' 

''  The  outcry  brought  the  servants  scurrying 
into  the  hall.  Adam  repeated  his  order  and  one 
of  the  servants  threw  open  the  door. 

'' '  Will  you  fetch  me  my  boots?  '  said  Cullen, 
and  sitting  down  in  a  chair  he  kicked  off  his  shoes. 
Then  he  pulled  on  his  boots  deliberately,  stood 
up  and  felt  in  his  pockets.  From  one  pocket  he 
drew  out  five  guineas,  from  a  second  two,  from 
a  third  four.  These  eleven  guineas  he  held  in  his 
open  hand. 

''  *  They  belong  to  you,  I  think,'  he  said,  softly, 
poising  them  in  his  palm  ;  and  before  any  one 
could  move  a  step  or  indeed  guess  at  his  intention, 
he  raised  his  arm  and  flung  them  with  all  his  force 
to  where  his  father  stood  at  the  head  of  the  stairs. 
Two  of  the  guineas  cut  the  old  man  in  the  fore- 
head, and  the  blood  ran  down  his  face ;  the  rest 
sparkled  and  clattered  against  the  panels  behind 
his  head,  whence  they  fell  on  to  the  stairs  and  rolled 
one  by  one  down  into  the  hall.  No  one  spoke ; 
no  one  moved.  The  brutal  violence  of  the  action 
for  the  moment  paralysed  every  one  ;  even  Adam 


58  THE  WATCHERS 

stood  shaking  at  the  stair  head  with  his  wits 
wandering.  One  by  one  the  guineas  rolled  down 
the  staircase,  leaping  from  step  to  step,  rattling 
as  they  leaped  ;  and  for  a  long  time  it  seemed, 
one  whirred  and  sang  in  a  corner  as  it  span  round 
and  settled  down  upon  the  boards  ;  and  when  the 
coin  had  ceased  to  spin,  still  no  one  moved,  no 
one  spoke.  A  murmur  of  waves  breaking  lazily 
upon  the  sand,  a  breath  of  air  stirring  a  shrub  in 
the  garden,  the  infinitesimal  trumpeting  of  a  gnat, 
came  through  the  window,  bringing  as  it  were 
tales  of  things  which  lived  into  a  room  of  statues. 
"  Cullen  himself  was  the  first  to  break  the  en- 
chantment. He  took  his  watch  from  his  fob  and 
holding  it  by  the  ribbon  twirled  it  backwards  and 
forwards.  It  was  a  big  silver  watch,  and  as  he 
twirled  it  this  way  and  that,  it  caught  the  light, 
seemed  to  throw  out  little  sparks  of  fire,  and 
flashed  with  a  dazzling  brightness.  The  eyes  of 
the  company  were  caught  by  it  ;  they  watched  it 
with  a  keen  attention,  not  knowing  why  they 
watched  it  ;  they  watched  it  as  it  shone  and  glit- 
tered in  its  revolutions,  almost  with  a  sense  of 
expectation,  as  though  something  of  great  conse- 
quence was  to  happen  from  the  twirling  of  that 
watch. 


CULLEN  MAYLE  59 

"  *  This,  too,  is  yours,'  said  Cullen,  'but  it  was 
no  doubt  some  dead  sailorman's  before  you  stole 
it ;  '  and  ceasing  to  twirl  the  watch  he  held  it 
steady  by  the  ribbon.  Then  he  looked  round  the 
hall  and  saw  Helen  staring  at  the  watch  with  a 
queer  intentness.  I  remember  that  her  hand  was 
at  that  moment  resting  upon  my  sleeve,  and  I  felt 
it  grow  more  rigid.  I  looked  at  her ;  her  face 
was  set,  her  eyes  fixed  upon  Cullen  and  his  glit- 
tering watch.  I  spoke  to  her  ;  she  did  not  answer, 
she  did  not  hear." 

Clutterbuck  interrupted  his  story  and  sat 
moodily  lost  in  his  recollections,  and  when  he  re- 
sumed it  was  with  great  bitterness. 

"  I  think,"  he  continued,  "  that  when  Cullen 
spoke,  he  spoke  with  no  other  end  than  to  provoke 
his  father  yet  more.  You  must  know  that  the 
old  man  had  just  one  tender  spot  in  his  heart. 
Cullen  could  have  no  other  aim  but  to  set  his  heel 
on  that. 

"  '  I  will  come  back  for  you,  Helen,*  he  said, 
bending  his  eyes  upon  her  and  making  as  if  there 
was  much  love  between  them  ;  and  to  everybody's 
surprise  Helen  lifted  her  eyes  slowly  from  the 
watch  until  they  met  CuUen's,  and  kept  them 
there.     She  did  not  answer  him  in  words,  there 


6o  THE  WATCHERS 

was  no  need  she  should,  every  line  of  her  body- 
expressed  obedience. 

"  Even  Cullen  was  puzzled  by  her  demeanour. 
Boy  and  girl,  maid  and  youth,  they  had  lived  side 
by  side  in  the  house  with  indifference  upon  his 
part  and  all  the  appearance  of  aversion  upon  hers. 
Yet  here  was  she  subdued  in  an  instant  at  the 
prospect  of  his  departure  !  It  seemed  that  the 
mere  thought  that  Cullen  was  henceforth  an  out- 
cast tore  her  secret  live  and  warm  from  her  heart. 

Cullen  was  plainly  puzzled,  as  I  say,  but  he  was 
not  the  man  to  miss  an  advantage  in  the  gratifica- 
tion of  his  malice.  He  shot  one  triumphant  look 
at  his  father  and  spoke  again  to  Helen. 

"  *  You  will  wait  for  me  ?  * 

"  Her  eyes  never  wavered  from  his. 

"  *  Yes !  *  she  answered. 

"  It  was  a  humiliating  moment  for  me  as  you 
may  imagine.  It  must  have  been  more  humiliat- 
ing for  Adam.  With  a  hand  upon  the  rail  he 
lumbered  heavily  down  a  couple  of  the  stairs. 

"  *  No  ! '  he  cried,  with  a  dreadful  oath  and  in  a 
voice  which  was  strangely  moved. 

"  '  But  I  say  yes,*  said  Cullen,  very  quietly. 
The  smile  had  gone  from  his  face ;  a  new  excite- 
ment kindled  it.     He  was  pitting  his  will  against 


CULLEN  MAYLE  6i 

his  father's.  I  saw  him  suddenly  draw  himself 
erect.  '  Or,  better  still,  you  shall  come  with  me 
now,'  he  cried.  He  reached  out  his  arm  straight 
from  the  shoulder  towards  her. 

*'  '  Come  !     Come  with  me  now.' 

''  His  voice  rang  out  dominant  like  the  clang  of 
a  trumpet,  and  to  the  consternation  of  us  all, 
Helen  crossed  the  floor  towards  him.  I  tried  to  de- 
tain her.  '  Helen,'  I  cried,  '  you  do  not  know  what 
you  are  doing.     He  will  drag  you  into  the  gutter.' 

'"Lieutenant  Clutterbuck,'  said  Cullen,  'you 
are  very  red  in  the  face.  You  cannot  expect  she 
will  listen  to  you,  for  you  do  not  look  well  when 
you  are  red  in  the  face.' 

*'  I  paid  no  heed  to  his  gibes. 

''  *  Helen,'  I  cried,  again.  She  paid  no  more 
heed  to  my  prayers.  '  What  will  you  do  ?  Where 
will  you  go  ?  '     I  asked. 

"  *  We  shall  go  to  London,'  answered  Cullen, 
'  where  we  shall  do  very  well,  and  further  to  the 
best  of  our  means  Lieutenant  Clutterbuck's 
advancement.' 

'*  Humiliation  and  grief  had  overset  my  judg- 
ment or  I  should  not  have  argued  at  this  moment 
with  Cullen  Mayle.  I  flung  out  at  him  hotly,  and 
like  a  boy. 


62  THE  WATCHERS 

" '  When  you  are  doing  very  well  in  London, 
Cullen  Mayle,  Lieutenant  Clutterbuck  will  not  be 
so  far  behind  you.* 

"  *  He  will  indeed  be  close  upon  my  heels/ 
returned  Cullen  as  pleasantly  as  possible,  '  for 
most  likely  he  will  be  carrying  my  valise.' 

"  With  that  he  turned  again  to  Helen,  beckoned 
her  to  follow  him,  and  strode  towards  the  open 
door.  She  did  follow  him.  Cullen  was  already 
in  the  doorway ;  in  another  second  she  would  have 
crossed  the  threshold.  But  with  a  surprising 
agility  Adam  Mayle  jumped  down  the  stairs,  ran 
across  the  hall,  and  caught  the  girl  in  his  arms. 
She  did  not  struggle  to  free  herself,  but  she 
strained  steadily  towards  Cullen.  The  old  man's 
arms  were  strong,  however. 

'' '  Shut  the  door,'  he  cried,  and  I  sprang  for- 
ward and  slammed  it  to. 

"'Lock  it!     Bolt  it!' 

"  Adam  stood  with  his  arms  about  the  girl  until 
the  heavy  bar  swung  down  across  the  door  and 
dropped  into  its  socket  with  a  clang.  Now  do 
you  understand  why  I  will  not  go  down  to  Tresco  ? 
I  can  give  you  another  reason  if  you  are  not 
content.  When  I  spoke  to  Helen  two  days  later, 
and  taxed  her  with  her  passion  for  Cullen, — would 


CULLEN  MAYLE  63 

you  believe  it  ? — she  was  deeply  pained  and  hurt. 
She  would  not  have  it  said  that  she  had  so  much 
as  thought  of  following  Cullen's  fortunes.  She 
outfaced  me  as  though  I  had  been  telling  her 
fairy  tales,  and  not  what  my  own  eyes  saw.  No, 
indeed,  I  will  not  go  down  to  Tresco  !  I  am  not 
the  traveller  who  has  ridden  into  your  wood  upon 
the  Great  West  Road." 

Lieutenant  Clutterbuck  took  up  his  hat  when 
he  had  finished  his  story, 

''  The  girl,  besides,  is  not  worth  a  thought," 
said  he. 

"  I  am  not  thinking  of  her,"  said  I.  Of  Lieu- 
tenant Clutterbuck,  of  myself,  above  all  of  Dick 
Parmiter,  I  was  thinking,  but  not  at  all  of  Helen 
Mayle.  I  drew  the  map  towards  me.  Clutterbuck 
stopped  at  the  door,  came  back  and  again  leaned 
over  my  shoulder. 

"  Has  your  traveller  come  out  from  that  wood  ?  " 
he  asked. 

"  No,"  I  answered. 

"  It  is  an  allegory,"  said  he.  "  The  man  who 
rides  down  on  this  business  to  the  West  will,  in 
very  truth,  enter  into  a  wood  from  which  he  will 
not  get  free." 


CHAPTER  V 

THE   ADVENTURE   IN   THE   WOOD 

A  LOUD  roll  of  drums  beneath  my  windows,  the 
inspiriting  music  of  trumpets,  the  lively  measured 
stamp  of  feet.  The  troops  with  General  Amherst 
at  their  head  were  marching  down  St.  James's 
Street  on  their  way  to  embark  for  Canada,  and 
the  tune  to  which  they  marched  sang  in  my  head 
that  day  as  I  rode  out  of  London.  The  beat  of 
my  horse's  hoofs  kept  time  to  it,  and  at  Brentford 
a  girl  singing  in  a  garden  of  apple-trees  threw  me 
a  snatch  of  a  song  to  fit  to  it. 

She  sang,  and  I  caught  the  words  up  as  I  rode 

past.     The  sparkle  of  summer  was  in  the  air,  and 

an  Indian  summer,  if  you   will,   at  my  heart.     I 

slept  that  night  at   Hartley  Row,  and  the  next  at 

Down  House,  and  the  third  at  a  little  inn  some 

miles  beyond  Dorchester.     A  brook  danced  at  the 

foot  of  the  house,  and  sang  me  to  sleep  with  the 

song   I   had  heard   at   Brentford,  and,  as  I  lay  in 

bed,  I  could  see  out  of  my  window  the  starlight 
64 


THE  ADVENTURE  IN  THE  WOOD    65 

and  the  quiet  fields  white  with  a  frost  of  dew  and 
thickets  of  trees  very  black  and  still  ;  and  towards 
sunset  upon  the  fourth  day,  I  suddenly  reined  in 
my  horse  to  one  side  and  sat  stone-still.  To  my 
left,  the  road  ran  straight  and  level  for  a  long  way, 
and  nowhere  upon  it  was  there  a  living  thing ;  on 
each  side  stretched  fields  and  no  one  moved  in 
them,  and  no  house  was  visible.  That  way  I  had 
come,  and  I  had  remarked  upon  the  loneliness. 
To  my  right,  the  road  ran  forward  into  a  thick 
wood,  and  vanished  beneath  a  roof  of  overhanging 
boughs.  It  was  the  aspect  of  that  wood  which 
took  my  breath  away,  and  it  surprised  me  because 
it  was  familiar.  There  was  a  milestone  which  I 
recognised  just  where  the  first  tree  overhung  the 
road  ;  there  was  a  white  gate  in  the  hedge  some 
twenty  paces  this  side  of  the  milestone.  I  knew 
that  too.  Just  behind  where  I  sat  there  should  be 
three  tall  poplars  ranged  in  a  line  like  sentinels, 
the  wood's  outposts ;  I  turned,  and  in  the  field 
behind  me,  the  poplars  reached  up  against  the  sky. 
I  had  no  doubt  they  would  be  there,  yet  the  sight 
of  them  fairly  startled  me.  I  had  seen  them — yes, 
but  never  in  my  life  had  I  ridden  along  this  road 
before.     I  had  seen  them  only  on  the  map  in  my 

lodging  at  St.  James's  Street. 
5 


66  THE  WATCHERS 

The  sun  dropped  down  behind  the  trees,  and 
the  earth  turned  grey.  I  sat  there  in  the  saddle 
with  I  know  not  what  superstitious  fancies  upon 
me.  I  could  not  but  remember  that  the  traveller 
had  ridden  into  the  wood,  and  had  not  ridden  out 
and  down  the  open  bank  of  grass  upon  the  other 
side.  "  What  if  his  horse  has  stumbled  ?  "  Clut- 
terbuck  had  asked.  ''  What  if  he  is  lying  at  the 
roadside  under  the  trees?"  I  could  see  that 
picture  very  clearly,  and  at  last,  very  clearly  too, 
the  rider's  face.  I  looked  backwards  down  the 
road  with  an  instinctive  hope  that  some  other 
traveller  might  be  riding  my  way  in  whose  com- 
pany I  might  go  along.  But  the  long  level  slip  of 
white  was  empty.  All  the  warmth  seemed  to 
have  gone  from  the  world  with  the  dropping  of 
the  sun.  A  sad  chill  twilight  crept  over  the  lonely 
fields.  A  shiver  caught  and  shook  me  ;  I  gathered 
up  the  reins  and  rode  slowly  among  the  trees, 
where  already  it  was  night. 

I  rode  at  first  in  the  centre  of  the  highway,  and 
found  the  clatter  of  my  horse's  hoofs  a  very  com- 
panionable sound.  But  in  a  little  the  clatter 
seemed  too  loud,  it  was  too  clear  a  warning  of  my 
approach,  it  seemed  to  me  in  some  way  a  provo- 
cation of  danger.     I  drew  to  one  side  of  the  road 


THE  ADVENTURE  IN  THE  WOOD    G'] 

where  the  leaves  had  drifted  and  made  a  carpet 
whereon  I  rode  without  noise.  But  now  the 
silence  seemed  too  eerie — I  heard,  and  started  at, 
the  snapping  of  every  twig.  I  strained  my  ears 
to  catch  the  noise  of  creeping  footfalls,  and  I  was 
about  to  guide  my  horse  back  to  the  middle  of  the 
road,  when  I  turned  a  corner  suddenly,  and  saw 
in  front  of  me  in  a  space  where  the  forest  receded 
and  let  the  sky  through,  lights  gleaming  in  a 
window. 

I  set  spurs  to  the  horse  and  galloped  up  to  the 
door.  The  house  was  an  inn  ;  the  landlord  was 
already  at  the  threshold,  and  in  a  very  short  while 
I  was  laughing  at  my  fears  over  my  supper  in  the 
parlour. 

*'Am  I  your  only  guest  to-night?"  I  asked. 

"  There  is  one  other,  sir,"  returned  the  landlord 
as  he  served  me,  and  as  he  spoke  I  heard  a  foot- 
step in  the  passage.  The  door  was  pushed  open, 
and  a  young  man  politely  bowed  to  me  in  the 
entrance. 

''  You  have  a  very  pretty  piece  of  horseflesh, 
sir,"  said  he,  as  he  came  into  the  room.  *'  I  took 
the  liberty  of  looking  it  over  a  minute  ago  in  the 
stables." 

"  It  is  not  bad,"  said  I.     There  was  never  a 


68  THE  WATCHERS 

man  in  the  world  who  did  not  relish  praise  of  his 
horse,  and  I  warmed  to  my  new  acquaintance. 
"  We  are  both,  it  seems,  sleeping  here  to-night, 
and  likely  enough  we  are  travelling  the  same  road 
to-morrow." 

The  young  man  shook  his  head. 

*'  I  could  wish  indeed,"  said  he,  ''  that  we  might 
be  fellow-travellers,  but  though  it  may  well  be  we 
follow  the  same  road,  we  do  not,  alas,  travel  in  the 
same  way,"  and  he  showed  me  his  boots  which 
were  thickly  covered  with  dust.  "  My  horse  fell 
some  half-a-dozen  miles  from  here  and  snapped  a 
leg.  I  must  needs  walk  to-morrow  so  far  as  where 
I  trust  to  procure  another — that  is  to  say,"  he 
continued,  "  if  I  do  not  have  to  keep  my  bed,  for 
I  have  taken  a  devilish  chill  this  evening,"  and 
drawing  up  his  chair  to  the  empty  fireplace,  he 
crouched  over  an  imaginary  fire  and  shivered. 

Now  since  he  sat  in  this  attitude,  I  could  not 
but  notice  his  boots,  and  I  fell  to  wondering  what 
in  the  world  he  had  done  with  his  spurs.  For  he 
wore  none,  and  since  he  had  plainly  not  troubled 
to  repair  the  disorder  of  his  dress,  it  seemed 
strange  that  he  should  have  gone  to  the  pains 
of  removing  his  spurs.  However,  I  was  soon 
diverted  from   this   speculation   by    the   distress 


THE  ADVENTURE  IN  THE  WOOD    69 

into  which  Mr.  Featherstone's  cold  threw  him. 
Featherstone  was  his  narAe,  as  he  was  poHte 
enough  to  tell  me  in  the  intervals  of  coughing, 
and  I  told  him  mine  in  return.  At  last  his 
malady  so  increased  that  he  called  for  the  land- 
lord, and  bidding  him  light  a  great  fire  in  his  bed- 
room said  he  must  needs  go  to  bed 

"  I  trust,  however,"  he  continued  politely  to 
me,  ''that  you,  Mr.  Berkeley,  will  prove  a  Samari- 
tan, and  keep  me  company  for  a  while.  For  I 
shall  not  sleep,  upon  my  word  I  shall  not  sleep  a 
wink,"  and  he  was  so  positive  in  his  assurances 
that,  though  I  was  myself  sufficiently  tired,  I 
thought  it  no  more  than  kindness  to  fall  in  with 
his  wishes. 

Accordingly  I  followed  him  into  his  bedroom, 
where  he  lay  in  a  great  canopied  bed,  with  a  big 
fire  blazing  upon  the  hearth,  and  a  bottle  of  rum 
with  a  couple  of  glasses  upon  a  table  at  the  bed- 
side. 

"  It  is  an  ague,"  said  he,  "  which  I  caught  upon 
the  Gambia  River,  and  from  which  I  have  ever 
since  suffered  many  inconveniences ;  "  he  poured 
out  the  rum  into  the  glasses,  and  wished  me  with 
great  politeness  all  prosperity. 

It  was  no  doubt,  also,  because  he  had  voyaged 


70  THE  WATCHERS 

on  the  Gambia  River  that  he  suffered  no  incon- 
venience from  the  heat  of  the  room.  But  what 
with  the  hot  August  night,  and  the  blazing  fire, 
and  the  closed  window,  I  became  at  once  so 
drowsy  that  I  could  hardly  keep  my  eyes  open, 
and  I  wished  him  good-night. 

"  But  you  will  not  go,"  said  he.  "We  are  but 
this  moment  acquainted,  and  to-morrow  we  shall 
wave  a  farewell  each  to  the  other.     Let  us,  Mr. 

Berkeley,  make  something  of  the  meanwhile,  I  beg 

>> 
you. 

I  answered  him  that  I  did  not  wish  to  appear 
churlish,  but  that  I  should  most  certainly  appear 
so  if  I  fell  asleep  while  we  talked,  which,  in  spite 
of  myself,  I  was  very  likely  to  do. 

"  But  I  have  a  bottle  of  salts  here,"  said  he, 
with  a  laugh,  as  he  reached  out  of  bed  and  fum- 
bled with  his  coat.  "  I  have  a  bottle  of  salts  here 
which  will  infallibly  persuade  you  from  any 
thought  of  sleep,"  and  he  drew  out  from  the 
pocket  of  his  coat  a  pack  of  cards.  *'  Well,  what 
do  you  say  ?  "  he  continued,  as  I  did  not  move. 

"  It  is  some  while  since  I  handled  a  card,"  said 
I  slowly. 

"A  game  of  picquet,"  he  suggested. 

"  It  is  a  good  game,"  said  I. 


THE  ADVENTURE  IN  THE  WOOD    71 

He  flipped  the  edges  of  the  cards  with  his 
thumb.     I  drew  nearer  to  the  bed. 

"Well,  one  game  then,"  said  I. 

*'  To  be  sure,"  said  he,  shuffling  the  cards. 

"And  the  stakes  must  be  low." 

"  I  hate  a  gambler  myself." 

He  cut  the  cards.  I  sat  down  on  the  bedside 
and  dealt  them. 

"  It  is  your  elder,"  said  I. 

He  looked  disconsolately  at  his  hand. 

"  Upon  my  word,"  said  he.  "  Deuce  take  me  if  I 
know  what  to  discard.  I  have  no  hand  for  picquet 
at  all,  though  as  luck  will  have  it  I  have  very 
good  putt  cards." 

I  glanced  through  my  hand. 

"  I  have  better  putt  cards  than  you,"  said  I. 

"  It  is  not  likely,"  he  returned. 

"  I'll  make  a  wager  of  it,"  I  cried. 

"  Your  horse,"  said  he,  leaning  up  on  his  elbow. 
He  spoke  a  trifle  too  eagerly,  he  sprang  up  on  his 
elbow  a  trifle  too  quickly.  I  looked  again  through 
my  hand,  and  I  laid  the  cards  down  on  the  coun- 
terpane. 

"  No,"  said  I  quietly.  "  It  is  very  likely  you  are 
right  :  I  have  two  treys  and  an  ace,  but  you  may 
have  two  treys  and  a  deuce." 


72  THE  WATCHERS 

"  Why,  this  is  purely  magical,"  he  exclaimed, 
with  the  most  natural  burst  of  laughter  imag- 
inable. ''  Two  treys  and  a  deuce  !  Those  are  In- 
deed the  cards  I  hold." 

He  fell  back  again  in  the  bed,  and  we  played 
our  single  game  of  picquet.  He  won  the  game. 
Indeed,  he  could  not  but  win  it,  for  I  paid  no  at- 
tention whatever  to  the  cards  which  I  held,  or  to 
how  I  should  draw,  or — and  this  perhaps  was  my 
most  important  omission- — to  how  Mr.  Feather- 
stone  shuffled  and  dealt.  The  truth  is,  1  had  sud- 
denly become  very  curious  about  Mr.  Feather- 
stone.  I  had  recalled  his  great  politeness  of  man- 
ner. I  remarked  his  face,  which  was  of  an  almost 
girlish  delicacy.  I  reflected  that  here  was  a  man 
in  a  great  hurry  to  travel  by  the  same  road  as  my- 
self, and  I  remembered  how  I  had  learned  that  trick 
by  which  he  had  tried  to  outwit  me  of  my  horse. 
Even  as  it  was  I  had  all  but  fallen  into  the  trap. 
I  should  most  certainly  have  done  so  had  not 
Lieutenant  Clutterbuck  once  explained  it  to  me 
on  a  particular  occasion.  I  remembered  that 
occasion  very  clearly  as  I  sat  on  the  bed  playing 
this  game  of  picquet  by  the  light  of  a  single  candle, 
and  I  wondered  whether  I  could  fit  Mr.  Feather- 
stone  with  another  name. 


THE  ADVENTURE  IN  THE  WOOD    73 

*'  I  am  afraid,"  said  he,  "  that  this  is  a  capote," 
as  I  played  my  last  card. 

"  But  the  loss  is  trifling,"  said  I,  "  and  I  have 
kept  my  horse." 

'*  Very  true,"  said  he,  whistling  softly  between 
his  teeth.  "  You  have  kept  your  horse,"  and  as  I 
wished  him  good-night,  he  added,  ''  you  will  be 
careful  to  shut  the  door  behind  you,  won't  you  ?  " 

But  before  the  words  were  out  of  his  mouth,  he 
was  seized  with  so  violent  a  paroxysm  of  shivering 
that  he  could  barely  stammer  out  the  end  of  the 
sentence. 

"  These  infernal  fevers,"  said  he,  with  a  groan. 

"  I  notice,  however,"  I  returned,  ''  that  they 
are  intermittent,"  and  latching  the  door  as  he 
again  requested  me,  I  went  off  to  my  own  room. 

I  could  not  but  wonder  what  trickery  the  fire 
was  intended  to  help,  for  until  the  last  fit  of  the 
ague  had  seized  him,  he  had  given  no  sign  of  any 
sickness  since  he  had  brought  out  the  cards. 
However,  there  was  a  more  important  question  to 
occupy  my  mind.  I  had  little  doubt  that  Mr. 
Featherstone  was  CuUen  Mayle  :  I  had  little  doubt 
that  he  was  hurrying  as  fast  as  he  could  to  the 
Scillies,  since  he  had  received  no  answer  to  the 
message    which    he    sent    with    the    negro.      But 


74  THE  WATCHERS 

should  I  tell  him  of  the  men  who  watched  for  his 
coming,  keeping  their  watches  as  at  sea  ?  On  the 
one  side  their  presence  meant  danger  to  Cullen 
Mayle,  it  could  hardly  mean  anything  else ;  and 
since  it  meant  danger  he  should  be  warned  of  it. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  watchers  might  have 
tired  of  their  watching  and  given  it  upas  profitless. 
Besides  I  was  by  no  means  sure  in  what  light 
Cullen  himself  was  to  be  regarded.  Was  his  re- 
turn to  Tresco,  a  prospect  to  be  welcomed  or 
deplored  ?  Did  he  come  as  a  friend  to  that  dis- 
tracted girl  alone  in  the  lonely  house  by  the  sand  ? 
I  could  not  answer  these  questions.  I  knew 
Cullen  to  be  a  knave,  I  knew  that  the  girl  cared 
for  him,  and  these  two  items  made  the  sum  of  my 
knowledge.  I  turned  over  in  my  bed  and  fell 
asleep,  thinking  that  my  course  might  be  clear  to 
me  in  the  morning. 

And  in  the  morning  it  was  clear.  I  woke  up 
with  a  mind  made  up.  I  had  a  horse  ;  Cullen  trav- 
elled on  foot ;  since  he  had  come  so  far  on  foot, 
it  was  not  likely  that  he  had  the  money  to  pur- 
chase a  horse,  for  the  story  of  the  stumble  and  the 
broken  leg  I  entirely  disbelieved,  and  with  the  best 
of  reasons.  I  had  travelled  myself  along  that  road 
yesterday,  and  I   had   passed  no  disabled  horse 


THE  ADVENTURE  IN  THE  WOOD    75 

upon  the  way.  I  had  therefore  the  advantage  of 
Cullen.  I  would  journey  on  without  saying  a 
word  to  him  of  my  destination.  I  would  on  ar- 
riving take  council  with  Dick  Parmiter  and  Helen 
Mayle  and  seek  to  fathom  the  trouble.  I  should 
still  have  time  to  cross  back  to  the  mainland 
and  hinder  Cullen  from  attempting  the  passage. 

Thus  I  planned  to  do,  but  the  plan  was  never 
put  to  the  test  of  action.  For  while  I  was  still 
dressing,  a  loud  hubbub  and  confusion  filled  the 
house.  I  opened  my  door.  The  noise  came  from 
the  direction  of  Cullen's  room.  I  hastily  slipped 
on  my  coat  and  ran  down  the  passage.  I  could 
hear  Cullen's  voice  very  loud  above  the  rest,  a 
woman  or  two  protesting  with  a  shrill  indignation 
and  the  landlord  trying  to  make  all  smooth,  though 
what  the  bother  was  about  I  could  not  distinguish. 

It  seemed  that  the  whole  household  was 
gathered  in  the  room,  though  Mr.  Featherstone 
still  lay  abed.  The  moment  that  I  appeared  in 
the  doorway, 

"  Ah  !  here's  a  witness,"  he  cried.  ''  Mr.  Berke- 
ley, you  were  the  last  to  leave  me  last  night. 
You  closed  the  door  behind  you  ?  I  was  particu- 
lar to  ask  you  to  close  the  door  ?  " 

"  I  remember  that  very  well,"  said  I,  "  for  I  was 


^e  THE  WATCHERS 

wondering  how  in  the  world  you  could  put  up 
with  the  door  closed  and  a  blazing  fire." 

"  There  !  "  cried  Featherstone  turning  to  the 
landlord.  ''  You  hear?  Mr.  Berkeley  is  a  gentle- 
man beyond  reproach.  He  shut  the  door  behind 
him,  and  this  morning  I  find  it  wide  open  and  my 
breeches  gone.  There  is  a  thief,  sir,  in  your  inn, 
and  we  travellers  must  go  on  our  way  without 
breeches.  It  is  the  most  inconsiderate  theft  that 
ever  I  heard  of." 

*'  As  for  the  breeches,  sir,"  began  the  land- 
lord. 

"  I  don't  care  a  button  for  them,"  cried  Feather- 
stone.  "  But  there  was  money  in  the  breeches* 
pockets.  Fifteen  guineas  in  gold,  and  a  couple 
of  bills  on  Mr.  Nossiter,  the  banker  at  Exeter." 

"  The  bills  can  be  stopped,"  said  the  landlord. 
"  We  are  but  eighteen  miles  from  Exeter." 

"  But  how  am  I  to  travel  those  miles ;  do  you 
expect  me  to  walk  there  in  my  shirt  tails.  No,  I 
stay  here  in  bed  until  my  breeches  are  found,  and, 
burn  me,  if  I  don't  eat  up  everything  in  the 
house,"  and  immediately  he  began  to  roar  out  for 
food.  "  I  will  have  chops  at  once,  and  there's  a 
great  sirloin  of  beef,  and  bring  me  a  tankard  of 
small  ale." 


THE  ADVENTURE  IN  THE  WOOD    jj 

Then  he  turned  again  to  me,  and  said  patheti- 
cally, 

"  It  is  not  the  breeches  I  mind,  though  to  be 
sure  I  shall  cut  a  ridiculous  figure  on  the  high- 
road ;  no,  nor  the  money,  though  I  have  not  a 
stiver  left.  But  I  woke  up  this  morning  in  the 
sweetest  good-humour,  and  here  am  I  in  a  violent 
passion  at  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  my 
whole  day  spoilt.  It  is  so  discouraging,"  and  he 
lay  back  upon  the  pillow  as  though  he  would  have 
wept. 

The  landlord  offered  him  his  Sunday  breeches. 
They  were  of  red  cloth,  and  a  belted  earl  might 
wear  them  without  shame. 

**  But  not  without  discomfort,"  grumbled  Mr. 
Featherstone,  contemplating  the  landlord  who 
was  of  a  large  figure.  **  They  will  hang  about  me 
in  swathes  like  a  petticoat." 

**  And  as  for  the  fifteen  guineas,"  said  I,  *'  my 
purse  is  to  that  amount  at  your  disposal." 

"  That  is  a  very  gentlemanly  offer,  Mr.  Berke- 
ley," said  he,  "■  from  one  stranger  to  another. 
But  I  have  a  horror  of  borrowing.  I  cannot  ac- 
cept your  munificence.  No,  I  will  walk  in  my 
host's  red  cloth  breeches  as  far  as  Rockbere,  which 
to  be  sure   is  no  more  than   twelve  miles,  quite 


;8  THE  WATCHERS 

penniless,  but  when  I  reach  my  friends,  upon  my 
word,  I  will  make  such  a  noise  about  this  inn  as 
will  close  its  doors,  strike  me  dead  and  stiff,  if  I 
on  t. 

His  threat  had  its  effect.  The  landlord,  after 
the  usual  protestations  that  such  an  incident  had 
never  occurred  before,  that  he  had  searched  the 
house  even  to  the  servants'  boxes,  and  that  he 
could  make  neither  head  nor  tail  of  the  business, 
wound  up  his  harangue  with  an  offer  of  five 
guineas. 

''  It  is  all  I  have  in  the  house,  sir,"  said  he, 
"  and  of  course  I  shall  charge  you  neither  for  food 
nor  lodging." 

''  Of  course  not,"  said  Mr.  Featherstone  indig- 
nantly. "  Well,  I  must  make  the  best  of  it,  but 
oh  !  I  woke  up  with  so  happy  a  disposition  to- 
wards the  world;  "  and  dismissing  the  women  he 
got  up  and  dressed.  The  landlord  fetched  the 
five  guineas  and  his  red  cloth  breeches,  which 
Featherstone  drew  on. 

*'  Was  ever  a  man  so  vilely  travestied  ?  "  he  said. 
''  Sure,  I  shall  be  taken  for  a  Hollander.  That 
is  hard  for  a  person  of  some  elegance,"  and  he  tied 
his  cravat  and  went  grumbling  from  the  room. 

"  This  is  a  great  misfortune,  sir,  for  me,"  said 


THE  ADVENTURE  IN  THE  WOOD    79 

my  host.  ^'  I  have  lived  honest  all  my  days. 
There  is  no  one  in  the  house  who  would  steal ;  on 
that  I  would  stake  my  life.  I  can  make  nothing 
of  it." 

"  Mr.  Featherstone  is  quite  recovered  from  his 
ague,"  said  I  slowly.  I  crossed  over  to  the 
empty  fireplace  heaped  with  the  white  ashes  of 
the  logs  which  had  blazed  there  the  night  before. 

"The  fire  no  doubt  did  him  some  benefit." 

"  That  is  precisely  what  I  was  thinking,"  said  I, 
and  I  knelt  down  on  the  hearth-rug  and  poked 
amongst  the  ashes  with  the  shovel.  Suddenly, 
the  landlord  uttered  an  exclamation  and  threw  up 
the  window.  I  heard  the  clatter  of  a  horse's  hoofs 
upon  the  road.  I  got  up  from  my  knees  and 
rushed  to  the  window.  As  I  leaned  out  Mr. 
Featherstone  rode  underneath  and  he  rode  my 
horse. 

"Stop  !"  I  shouted  out. 

**  Mr.  Berkeley,"  he  cried,  airily  waving  his  hand 
as  he  rode  by,  "  you  may  hold  very  good  putt 
cards,  but  you  haven't  kept  your  horse." 

*'  You  damned  thief !  "  I  yelled,  and  he  turned 
in  his  saddle  and  put  out  his  tongue.  It  is,  if  you 
think  of  it,  a  form  of  repartee  to  which  there  is  no 
reply.     In  any  case  I  doubt  if  I  could  have  made 


8o  THE  WATCHERS 

any  reply  which  would  have  reached  his  ears. 
For  he  had  set  the  horse  to  a  gallop  and  was  far 
down  the  road. 

I  went  back  to  the  hearth  where  the  landlord 
joined  me.  We  both  knelt  down  and  raked  away 
the  ashes. 

"  What's  that  ?  "  said  I,  pointing  to  something 
blackened  and  scorched.  The  landlord  picked 
it  up. 

"  It  is  a  piece  of  corduroy." 

"And  here's  a  bone  button,"  said  I.  "The 
ague  was  a  sham,  the  fire  a  device  to  rob  you. 
He  came  here  without  a  penny  piece  and  burnt 
his  breeches  last  night.  He  has  robbed  you,  he 
has  robbed  me,  and  he  will  reach  the  Scilly 
Islands  first.     How  far  is  it  to  Rockbere?  " 

"  Twelve  miles." 

"  I  must  walk  those  twelve  miles  ?  " 

"Yes." 

"  Will  I  get  a  horse  there  ?  " 

"  It  is  doubtful." 

"  He  has  a  day's  start  then  at  the  least." 

So  after  all,  though  the  horse  did  not  stumble, 
nor  the  rider  lie  quiet  by  the  roadside,  he  did  not 
ride  out  of  the  forest  at  a  gallop,  and  down  the 
green  bank  into  the  open  space  beyond. 


CHAPTER  VI 

MY  FIRST  NIGHT   UPON   TRESCO 

I  WALKED  that  day  into  Rockbere,  and  taking 
the  advice  of  the  innkeeper  with  whom  I  lodged, 
I  hired  a  hack  and  a  guide  from  him  the  next 
morning  and  struck  across  country  for  the  sea ; 
for  he  assured  me  that  I  should  most  likely  find 
a  fishing  smack  at  Topsham  whose  master  would 
put  me  over  to  the  Scillies,  and  that  if  the  wind 
did  but  favour  me  I  should  reach  the  islands  sooner 
that  way  than  if  I  had  the  quickest  horse  under 
me  that  was  ever  foaled.  It  was  of  the  greatest 
urgency  that  I  should  set  foot  on  Tresco  before 
Cullen  Mayle.  I  had  to  risk  something  to  achieve 
that  object,  and  I  risked  the  wind.  It  was  in  the 
northeast  when  I  started  from  Rockbere  and 
suited  my  purpose  finely  if  it  did  but  hold  ;  so 
that  I  much  regretted  I  w^as  not  already  on  the 
sea,  and  rode  in  a  perpetu-al  fear  lest  it  should 
change   its   quarter.     I    came  to   Honiton   Clyst 


82  THE  WATCHERS 

that  night,  and  to  Topsham  the  next  day,  where 
I  was  fortunate  enough  to  find  a  boat  of  some 
thirty  tons  and  to  come  to  an  agreement  with  its 
master.  He  had  his  crew  ready  to  his  hand  ;  he 
occupied  the  morning  in  provisioning  the  smack  ; 
and  we  stood  out  of  the  harbour  in  the  evening, 
and  with  a  steady  wind  on  our  quarter  made  a 
good  run  to  the  Start  Point.  Shortly  after  we 
passed  the  Start  the  wind  veered  round  into  the 
north,  which  did  us  no  great  harm,  since  these 
boats  sail  their  best  on  a  reach.  We  reached 
then  with  a  soldier's  breeze,  as  the  saying  is,  out 
to  the  Eddystone  Rock  and  the  Lizard  Point. 

It  was  directly  after  we  had  sighted  the  Lizard 
that  the  wind  began  to  fall  light,  and  when  we 
were  just  off  the  Point  it  failed  us  altogether.  I 
remember  that  night  as  well  as  any  other  period 
in  the  course  of  these  incidents.  I  was  running 
a  race  with  CuUen  Mayle,  and  I  was  beginning  to 
think  that  it  was  not  after  all  only  on  account  of 
his  peril  that  it  was  needful  for  me  to  reach 
Tresco  before  he  did.  These  last  two  days  I  had 
been  entirely  occupied  with  the  stimulation  of 
that  race  and  the  inspiriting  companionship  of 
the  sea.  The  waves  foaming  away  from  the  bows 
and   bubbling  and   hissing  under  the  lee  of  the 


MY  FIRST  NIGHT  UPON  TRESCO      83 

boat,  the  flaws  of  wind  blistering  the  surface  of  the 
water  as  they  came  off  the  land  towards  us,  mak- 
ing visible  their  invisible  approach  ;  the  responsive 
spring  of  the  boat,  like  a  horse  under  the  touch  of 
a  spur — these  mere  commonplaces  to  my  compan- 
ions had  for  me  an  engrossing  enchantment.  But 
on  that  evening  at  the  Lizard  Point  the  sea  lay 
under  the  sunset  a  smooth,  heaving  prism  of 
colours  ;  we  could  hear  nothing  but  the  groaning  of 
the  blocks,  the  creaking  of  the  boom's  collars 
against  the  masts ;  and  the  night  came  out  from 
behind  the  land  very  peaceful  and  solemn,  and 
solemnly  the  stars  shone  out  in  the  sky.  All  the 
excitement  of  the  last  days  died  out  of  me.  We 
swung  up  and  down  with  the  tide.  Now  the  lights 
of  Falmouth  were  visible  to  us  at  the  bottom  of  the 
bay,  now  the  Lizard  obscured  them  from  us.  I 
was  brought  somehow  to  think  of  those  last  years 
of  mine  in  London.  They  seemed  very  distant 
and  strange  to  me  in  this  clean  air,  and  the  pave- 
ment of  St.  James's  Street,  which  I  had  daily 
trodden,  became  an  unacceptable  thing. 

About  two  o'clock  of  the  morning  a  broad 
moon  rose  out  of  the  sea,  and  towards  daybreak 
a  little  ruffing  breeze  sprang  up,  and  we  made  a 
gentle  progress   across  the   bay  towards  Land's 


84  THE  WATCHERS 

End  ;  but  the  breeze  sank  as  the  sun  came  up, 
and  all  that  day  we  loitered,  gaining  a  little 
ground  now  and  then  and  losing  it  again  with  the 
turn  of  the  tide.  It  was  not  until  the  fifth  evening 
that  we  dropped  anchor  in  the  road  between  St. 
Mary's  Island  and  Tresco. 

I  waited  until  it  was  quite  dark,  and  was  then 
quietly  rowed  ashore  with  my  valise  in  the  ship's 
dinghy.  I  landed  on  Tresco  near  to  the  harbour 
of  New  Grimsby.  It  was  at  New  Grimsby  that 
Dick  Parmiter  lived,  Clutterbuck  had  told  me, 
and  the  first  thing  I  had  to  do  was  to  find  Dick 
Parmiter  without  arousing  any  attention. 

Now  on  an  island  like  Tresco,  sparsely  inhab- 
ited and  with  no  commerce,  the  mere  presence  of 
a  stranger  would  assuredly  provoke  comment.  I 
walked,  therefore,  very  warily  towards  the  village. 
One  house  I  saw  with  great  windows  all  lighted 
up,  and  that  I  took  to  be  the  Palace  Inn,  where 
Adam  Mayle  and  Cullen  used  to  sit  side  by  side 
on  the  settle  and  surprise  the  visitors  by  their  un- 
likeness  to  one  another.  There  was  a  small  clus- 
ter of  cottages  about  the  inn  with  a  lane  strag- 
gling between,  and  further  away,  round  the  curve 
of  the  little  bay,  were  two  huts  close  to  the  sea. 

It  would  be  in  one  of  these  that  Dick  Parmiter 


MY  FIRST  NIGHT  UPON  TRESCO      85 

lived,  and  I  crept  towards  them.  There  was  no 
light  whatever  in  the  first  of  them,  but  the  door 
stood  open,  and  a  woman  and  a  man  stood  talk- 
ing in  the  doorway.  I  lay  down  in  the  grass  and 
crawled  towards  them,  if  by  any  chance  I  might 
hear  what  they  said.  For  a  while  I  could  distin- 
guish nothing  of  what  they  said,  but  at  last  the 
man  cried  in  a  clear  voice,  '*  Good-night,  Mrs. 
Grudge,"  and  walked  off  to  the  inn.  The  woman 
went  in  and  closed  the  door.  I  was  sure  then 
that  the  next  cottage  was  the  one  for  which  I 
searched.  I  walked  to  it ;  there  was  a  light  in 
the  window  and  the  sound  of  voices  talking. 

I  hesitated  whether  to  go  in  boldly  and  ask  for 
Dick.  But  it  would  be  known  the  next  morning 
that  a  stranger  had  come  for  Dick  ;  no  doubt, 
too,  Dick's  journey  to  London  was  known,  and 
the  five  men  watching  the  house  on  Merchant's 
Point  would  be  straightway  upon  the  alert.  Be- 
sides Dick  might  not  have  reached  home.  I 
walked  round  the  hut  unable  to  decide  what  I 
should  do,  and  as  I  came  to  the  back  of  it  a  light 
suddenly  glowed  in  a  tiny  window  there.  I  cau- 
tiously approached  the  window  and  looked 
through.  Dick  Parmiter  was  stripping  off  his 
jersey,  and  was  alone. 


86  THE  WATCHERS 

I  tapped  on  the  window.  Dick  raised  his  head, 
and  then  put  out  the  Hght,  so  that  I  could  no 
longer  see  into  the  room ;  but  in  a  moment  the 
window  was  slowly  lifted,  and  the  boy's  voice 
whispered : 

"  Is  that  you,  Mr.  Mayle  ?  " 

I  drew  a  breath  of  relief.  I  was  ahead  of  Cullen 
Mayle,  though  he  had  stolen  my  horse. 

*'No,"  said  I;  "but  I  have  come  on  Cullen 
Mayle's  business." 

The  boy  leaned  out  of  the  window  and  peered 
into  my  face.  But  voices  were  raised  in  the  room 
beyond  this  cupboard,  and  a  w^oman's  voice  cried 
out,  "  Dick,  Dick  !  " 

''  That's  mother,"  said  Dick  to  me.  "  Wait !  I 
will  come  out  to  you." 

He  closed  the  window,  and  I  lay  down  again 
in  the  grass,  and  waited  there  for  perhaps  an 
hour.  A  mist  was  coming  up  from  the  sea  and 
thickening  about  the  island ;  the  starlight  was 
obscured  ;  wreaths  of  smoke,  it  seemed,  came  in 
puffs  between  myself  and  the  house,  and  at  last  I 
heard  the  rustling  of  feet  in  the  grass. 

**  Dick,"  said  I  in  a  whisper,  and  the  lad  came 
to  me. 

"I   remember  you,"  he  said.     "You  were  at 


MY  FIRST  NIGHT  UPON  TRESCO  87 
Lieutenant      Clutterbuck's.       Why     have      you 

"  Upon  my  word,"  said  I,  "  I  should  find  it 
difficult  to  tell  you." 

Indeed,  it  would  have  taken  me  half  the  night 
to  explain  the  motives  which  had  conjoined  to 
this  end. 

"  And  now  that  you  are  come,  what  is  it  you 
mean  to  do?" 

"Dick,"  I  returned,  "you  ask  the  most  discon- 
certing questions.  You  tramp  up  to  London 
with  a  wild  story  of  a  house  watched " 

"You  come  as  a  friend,  then,"  he  broke  in 
eagerly. 

"  As  your  friend,  yes." 

Dick  sat  silent  for  a  moment. 

"  I  think  so,"  he  said  at  length. 

"  And  here's  a  trifle  to  assure  you,"  I  said. 
"  Cullen  Mayle  is  not  very  far  behind  me.  You 
may  expect  him  upon  Tresco  any  morning." 

Dick  started  to  his  feet. 

"  Are  you  sure  of  that  ?  You  do  not  know  him. 
How  are  you  sure  ?  " 

"  Clutterbuck  described  him  to  me.  I  overtook 
him  on  the  road,  and  stayed  the  same  night  with 
him  at  an   inn.     He   robbed  me   and  robbed   the 


88  THE  WATCHERS 

landlord.  There  was  a  trick  at  the  cards,  too. 
Not  a  doubt  of  it,  Cullen  Mayle  is  close  on  my 
heels.  Are  those  five  men  still  watching  the 
house?" 

"  Yes.  They  are  still  upon  Tresco.  They 
lodge  here  and  there  with  the  fishermen,  and  make 
a  pretence  to  burn  kelp  or  to  fish  for  their  living; 
but  their  business  is  to  watch  the  house,  as  you 
will  see  to-night.  There  are  six  of  them  now,  not 
five." 

He  led  me  as  he  spoke  towards  the  "  Palace 
Inn,"  where  a  light  still  burned  in  the  kitchen. 
The  cottages  about  the  inn,  however,  were  by  this 
time  dark,  and  we  could  advance  without  risk  of 
being  seen.  Dick  stopped  me  under  the  shadow 
of  a  wall  not  ten  yards  from  the  inn.  A  red  blind 
covered  the  lower  part  of  the  window,  but  above 
it  I  could  see  quite  clearly  into  the  kitchen. 

**  Give  me  aback,"  whispered  Dick,  who  reached 
no  higher  than  my  shoulder.  I  bent  down  and 
Dick  climbed  on  to  my  shoulders,  whence  he  too 
could  see  the  interior  of  the  kitchen. 

**  That  v/ill  go,"  said  he  in  a  little,  and  slid  to 
the  ground.  "  Can  you  see  a  picture  on  the 
wall  ?  " 

*'  Yes." 


MY  FIRST  NIGHT  UPON  TRESCO      89 

'*  And  a  man  sitting  under  the  picture — a  squat, 
squabby  man  with  white  hair  and  small  eyes  very 
bright  ?  " 

''Yes." 

''  That  is  the  sixth  man.  He  came  to  Tresco 
while  I  was  in  London.  I  found  him  here  when 
I  came  back  two  days  ago.  But  I  had  seen  him 
before.  He  had  come  to  Tresco  before.  His 
name  is  George  Glen." 

"  George  Glen  !  "  said  I.  "  Wait  a  bit,"  and  I 
took  another  look  at  the  man  in  the  kitchen. 
*'  He  was  quartermaster  with  Adam  Mayle  at 
Whydah,  eh  ?  He  is  the  stranger  you  brought 
over  to  St.  Mary's  Church  on  the  day  when  Cullcn 
Mayle  sat  in  the  stocks." 

**  Yes,"  said  Dick,  and  he  asked  me  how  I  knew. 

"Clutterbuck  told  me,"  I  replied. 

From  the  inn  we  walked  some  few  yards  along 
a  lane  until  we  were  free  of  the  cottages,  and 
then  leaving  the  path,  mounted  inland  up  a  hill 
of  gorse.  Dick  gave  me  on  the  way  an  account 
of  his  journey  homewards  and  the  difficulties  he 
had  surmounted.  I  paid  only  an  indifferent 
attention  to  his  story,  for  I  was  wholly  occupied 
with  George  Glen's  presence  upon  the  island. 
Glen  had   come  first  of  all  to  visit  Adam  Mayle, 


90  THE  WATCHERS 

and  was  now  watching  forCullen.  What  link  was 
there  between  his  two  visits  ?  I  was  incHned  to 
think  that  George  Glen  was  the  clue  to  the  whole 
mystery.  In  spite  of  my  inattention,  I  gathered 
this  much  however  from  Dick.  That  tramp  of 
his  to  London  was  well  known  throughout  the 
islands.  His  mother  had  given  him  up  for  dead 
when  he  went  away,  and  had  thrashed  him  soundly 
when  he  returned,  but  the  next  day  had  made 
him  out  a  great  hero  in  her  talk.  She  did  not 
know  why  he  went  to  London,  for  Dick  had  the 
discretion  to  hold  his  tongue  upon  that  point. 

So  much  Parmiter  had  told  me  when  he  suddenly 
stopped  and  listened.  I  could  hear  nothing,  how- 
ever much  I  strained  my  ears,  and  in  a  moment 
or  two  Dick  began  to  move  on.  The  mist  was 
very  thick  about  us — I  could  not  see  a  yard 
beyond  my  nose ;  but  we  were  now  going  down 
hill,  so  that  I  knew  we  had  crossed  the  ridge  of 
the  island  and  were  descending  towards  the  har- 
bour of  New  Grimsby  and  the  house  under  Mer- 
chant's Rock. 

We  had  descended  for  perhaps  a  couple  of 
hundred  yards;  then  Dick  stopped  again.  He 
laid  a  hand  upon  my  arm  and  dragged  me  down 
among  the  gorse,  which  was  drenched  with  the  fog. 


MY  FIRST  NIGHT  UPON  TRESCO      91 

"What  is  it?"  said  I. 

"  Hush,"  he  whispered  ;  and  even  as  he  whis- 
pered I  saw  a  sort  of  brown  radiance  through  the 
fog  a  long  way  to  my  left.     The  next   instant  a 
speck  of  clear  light  shone  out  in  the  heart  of  this 
radiance  :  it  was   the  flame  of  a  lantern,  and  it 
seemed   miles  away.      I   raised  myself  upon  my 
elbows  to  watch  it.     Dick  pulled  my  elbow  from 
beneath  me,  and    pressed    me  down    flat    in  the 
grass ;  and   it  was  fortunate  that  he  did,  for  im- 
mediately the  lantern  loomed  out  of  the  fog  not 
a  dozen  yards  away.     I  heard  it  rattle  as  it  swung, 
and  the  man  who  carried   it   tramped  by  so   near 
to  me  that  if  I  had  stretched  out  my  hand  I  could 
have  caught  him  by  the  ankle  and  jerked  him  off 
his  feet.     It  was  the  purest  good  fortune  that  he 
did  not  detect  us,  and  we  lay  very  still  until  the 
rustle  of  the  footsteps  had  altogether  died  away. 
''  Is  that  one  of  them  ?  "  I  asked. 
"Yes;  William  Blads.     He  lodges  with   Mrs. 
Crudge  next  to  our  cottage." 

We  continued  to  descend  through  the  gorse  for 
another  quarter  of  an  hour  or  so  until  an  extraor- 
dinary sound  at  our  feet  brought  us  both  to  an 
halt.  It  was  the  strangest  melancholy  screeching 
sound  that  ever  I  had  heard  :  it  was  so  harsh  it 


92  THE  WATCHERS 

pierced  the  ears ;  it  was  so  wild  and  eerie  that  I 
could  hardly  believe  a  voice  uttered  it.  It  was 
like  a  shrill  cr}/  of  pain  uttered  by  some  live  thing 
that  was  hardly  human.  It  startled  me  beyond 
words,  and  the  more  so  because  it  rose  out  of  the 
fog  directly  at  our  feet.  Dick  Parmiter  trembled 
at  my  side. 

"  Quick,"  he  whispered  in  a  shaking  voice  ;  "  let 
us  go  !     Oh,  let  us  go  !  " 

But  he  could  not  move  for  all  his  moaning.  His 
limbs  shook  as  though  he  had  the  fever ;  terror 
chained  him  there  to  the  ground.  Had  I  not 
known  the  boy  under  other  circumstances,  I 
should  have  set  him  down  for  a  coward. 

I  took  a  step  forward.  Dick  caught  hold  of  my 
arm  and  muttered  something,  but  his  voice  so 
wavered  and  gasped  I  could  not  distinguish  what 
he  said.  I  shook  his  arm  off,  and  again  stepped 
forward  for  one,  two,  three  paces.  As  I  took  the 
third  pace  the  ground  suddenly  sloped,  my  feet 
slipped  on  the  wet  grass ;  I  let  go  of  my  valise, 
and  I  fell  to  my  full  length  upon  my  back,  and 
slid.  And  the  moment  I  began  to  slide  my  feet 
touched  nothing.  I  caught  at  the  grass,  and  the 
roots  of  it  came  away  in  my  hands.  I  turned 
over  on  my  face.     Half  my  body  was  now  hanging 


MY  FIRST  NIGHT  UPON  TRESCO      93 

over  the  edge.  I  hung  for  a  second  by  my  waist, 
and  as  I  felt  my  waist  slipping,  I  struck  out 
wildly  upon  each  side  with  my  arms.  My  right 
arm  struck  against  a  bush  of  gorse ;  I  seized  hold 
of  it,  and  it  bent,  but  it  did  not  break.  I  lifted  a 
knee  carefully,  set  it  on  the  edge,  and  so  crawled 
up  the  slope  again. 

Dick  was  lying  on  his  face  peering  down  to- 
wards me. 

"  My  God,"  said  he,  ^*  I  thought  you  had 
fallen  ; "  and  reaching  out  his  hands,  he  caught 
both  my  arms  as  though  he  was  afraid  I  should 
slip  again.     "  Oh,  quick,"  he  said,  "  let  us  go !  " 

And  again  I  heard  the  shrill  screech  rise  up  from 
that  hollow  into  which  I  had  so  nearly  fallen.  It 
was  repeated  and  repeated  with  a  regular  interval 
between — an  interval  long  enough  for  Dick  to  re- 
iterate his  eager  prayer. 

"  It  has  begun  again,"  said  I. 

"  It  has  never  ceased  since  we  first  heard  it," 
said  Dick,  and  no  doubt  he  spoke  the  truth ;  only 
I  had  been  deaf  to  it  from  the  moment  my  foot 
slipped  until  now.  *'  Let  us  go,"  and  picking  up 
my  valise  he  hurried  me  away,  turning  his  head 
as  he  went,  shuddering  whenever  he  heard  that 
cry. 


94 


THE  WATCHERS 


"  But  it  may  be  some  one  in  distress — some  one 
who  needs  help." 

"  No,  no/'  he  cried  ;  "  it  is  no  one.  I  will  tell 
you  to-morrow." 

We  skirted  the  top  of  the  hollow,  and  once 
more  descended.  The  fog  showed  no  sign  of 
clearing,  but  Parmiter  walked  with  an  assured 
tread,  and  in  a  little  time  he  began  to  recover  his 
spirits. 

"  We  are  close  to  the  house,"  said  he. 

"  Dick,  you  are  afraid  of  ghosts,"  said  I  ;  and 
while  I  spoke  he  uttered  a  cry  and  clung  to  my 
arm.  A  second  later  something  brushed  past  my 
hand  very  quickly.  I  just  saw  it  for  an  instant 
as  it  flitted  past,  and  then  the  darkness  swallowed 
it  up. 

Dick  blurted  out  this  fable :  the  souls  of  dead 
drowned  sailormen  kept  nightly  tryst  on  Castle 
Down. 

"  That  was  no  spirit,"  said  T.  "  Play  the  man, 
Dick.  Did  you  ever  meet  a  spirit  that  trod  with 
the  weight  of  a  body  ?  " 

I  could  hear  the  sound  of  feet  rustling  the  grass 
beneath  us.  Dick  listened  with  his  hand  to  his 
ear. 

"  The  tread  is  very  light,"  said  he. 


MY  FIRST  NIGHT  UPON  TRESCO      95 

"  That  is  because  it  is  a  woman  who  treads." 

"  No  woman  would  be  abroad  here  in  this  fog 
at  this  time,"  he  protested. 

'*  Nevertheless,  it  was  a  woman  ;  for  I  saw  her, 
and  her  dress  brushed  against  my  hand.  It  was 
a  woman,  and  you  cried  out  at  her  ;  so  that  if  there 
is  any  one  else  upon  the  watch  to-night,  it  is  very 
likely  we  shall  have  him  upon  our  heels." 

That  argument  sobered  him,  and  we  went  for- 
ward again  without  speaking  to  each  other,  and 
only  halting  now  and  again  to  listen.  In  a  very 
short  while  we  heard  the  sea  booming  upon  the 
beach,  and  then  Dick  stepped  forward  yet  more 
warily,  feeling  about  with  his  hands. 

"  There  should  be  a  fence  hereabouts,"  said  he, 
and  the  next  moment  I  fell  over  it  with  a  great 
clatter.  A  loud  whistle  sounded  from  the  beach — 
another  whistle  answered  behind  us,  and  I  heard 
the  sound  of  a  man  running  up  from  the  sand. 
We  both  crouched  in  the  grass  close  by  the  pali- 
sade, and  again  the  fog  saved  us.  I  heard  some  one 
beating  about  in  the  grass  with  a  stick,  but  he  did 
not  come  near  us,  and  at  last  he  turned  back  to 
the  sea. 

"  You  see,"  said  Dick,  "  I  told  Lieutenant  Clut- 
terbuck  the  truth.     The  house  is  watched." 


96  THE  WATCHERS 

"  Devil  a  doubt  of  it,"  said  I.  "  Do  you  go 
forward  and  see  if  you  can  get  in." 

He  came  back  to  me  in  a  little  space  of  time, 
saying  that  the  door  was  barred,  and  that  he  could 
see  no  light  through  any  chink.  He  had  stolen  all 
round  the  house  ;  he  had  rapped  gently  here  and 
there  at  a  window,  but  there  was  no  one  waking. 

"And  what  are  we  to  do  now  ?  "  said  he.  "  If 
I  make  a  clatter  and  rouse  the  house,  we  shall 
rouse  Cullen's  enemies,  too." 

"  It  would  not  be  wise  to  put  them  on  the  alert, 
the  more  particularly  since  Cullen  Mayle  may  be 
here  to-morrow.  I  will  go  back  to  the  '  Palace ' 
Inn,  sleep  the  night  there,  and  come  over  here 
boldly  in  the  morning."  And  I  got  up  and  shoul- 
dered my  valise  again.     But  Dick  stopped  me. 

"  I  have  a  better  plan  than  that,"  said  he,  "  for 
George  Glen  is  staying  at  the  '  Palace  '  Inn.  What 
if  you  slept  in  the  house  here  to-night  !  I  can 
come  over  early  to-morrow  and  tell  Miss  Helen 
who  you  are,  and  why  you  have  come." 

"  But  how  am  I  to  get  into  the  house,  without 
you  rouse  the  household  ?  " 

"  There  is  a  window.  It  is  the  window  of 
Cullen  Mayle's  room.  You  could  get  through  it 
with  my  help." 


MY  FIRST  NIGHT  UPON  TRESCO      97 

It  seemed  in  many  ways  the  best  plan  that  could 
be  thought  of,  but  certain  words  of  Clutterbuck's 
that  my  meddling  at  all  in  the  matter  would  be 
nothing  but  an  impertinence  came  back  very 
forcibly  to  me.  But  I  heard  Dick  Parmiter  speak- 
ing, and  the  thought  slipped  instantly  from  my 
mind. 

"  I  helped  Cullen  Mayle  through  the  window, 
the  night  his  father  drove  him  from  the  house," 
said  he,  "  and " 

"  What's  that  you  say  ?  "  I  asked  eagerly.  "  The 
night  that  Cullen  Mayle  was  driven  from  the 
house,  he  climbed  back  into  his  room  !  " 

''  Yes  !  " 

"  Tell  me  about  it,  and  be  quick  !  "  said  I. 
I  had  my  own  reason  for  urging  him,  and  I  listened 
with  all  my  attention  to  every  word  he  spoke. 
He  told  me  the  sequel  of  the  story  which  Clutter- 
buck  had  related  in  my  lodging  at  St.  James's 
Street. 

"  I  was  waiting  for  him  outside  here  on  the 

beach,"  said  he  ;  "  and  when  the  door  was  closed 

behind  him,  he  came  straight  towards  me.     '  And 

where  am  I  to  sleep  to-night,  Dick  ? '  said  he.     I 

told  him  that  he  could  have  my  bed  over  at  New 

Grimsby,  but  he  refused  it.      '  I'm  damned  if  I 
7 


98  THE  WATCHERS 

sleep  in  a  rat-hole,'  he  said,  '  when  by  putting  my 
pride  in  my  pocket  I  can  sleep  in  my  own  bed  ; 
and  with  my  help  he  clambered  on  to  an  out- 
house, and  so  back  into  his  own  room." 

"  When  did  he  leave  the  island,  then  ?  "  I  asked. 
"The  next  morning?  But  no  one  saw  him 
go? 

"  No,"  answered  Dick.  ''  I  sailed  him  across 
the  same  night.  About  three  o'clock  of  the 
morning  he  came  and  tapped  softly  upon  my 
window,  just  as  you  did  to-night.  It  was  that 
which  made  me  think  you  were  Cullen  come  back. 
He  bade  me  slip  out  to  him  without  any  noise, 
and  together  we  carried  my  father's  skiff  down  to 
the  water.  I  sailed  him  across  to  St.  Mary's. 
He  made  me  swear  never  to  tell  a  word  of  his 
climbing  back  into  his  room." 

"  Oh,  he  made  you  swear  that  ?  " 

*'  Yes,  he  said  he  would  rip  my  heart  out  if  I 
broke  my  oath.  Well,  I've  kept  it  till  to-night. 
No  one  knows  but  you.  I  got  back  to  Tresco 
before  my  father  had  stirred." 

"And  Cullen?" 

"  A  barque  put  out  from  St.  Mary's  to  Corn- 
wall with  the  first  of  the  ebb  in  the  morning.  I 
suppose  he  persuaded  the  captain  to  take  him." 


MY  FIRST  NIGHT  UPON  TRESCO      99 

Parmiter's  story  set  me  thinking,  and  I  climbed 
over  the  palisade  after  him  without  further  ob- 
jection. He  came  to  a  wall  of  planks ;  Dick  set 
himself  firmly  against  it  and  bent  his  shoulders. 

"  This  is  an  outhouse,"  said  he.  "  From  my 
shoulders  you  can  reach  the  roof.  From  the  roof 
you  can  reach  the  window.  You  can  force  the 
catch  of  the  window  with  a  knife." 

"  It  will  be  an  awkward  business,"  said  I  doubt- 
fully, "  if  I  wake  the  house." 

*'  There  is  no  fear  of  that,"  answered  Dick. 
**  With  any  other  window  I  would  not  say  no. 
The  other  rooms  are  separated  only  by  a  thin 
panelling  of  wood,  and  at  one  end  of  the  house 
you  can  almost  hear  a  mouse  scamper  at  the 
other.  Mr.  Cullen's  room,  however,  is  a  room 
built  on,  its  inner  wall  is  the  outer  wall  of  the 
house,  it  is  the  one  room  where  you  could  talk 
secrets  and  run  no  risk  of  being  overheard." 

"  Very  well,"  said  I  slowly,  for  this  speech  too 
set  me  thinking.  "  I  will  risk  it.  Come  over 
early  to-morrow,  Dick.  I  shall  cut  an  awkward 
figure  without  you  do,"  and  getting  on  to  his 
shoulder,  I  clambered  up  on  to  the  roof  of  the 
outhouse.  He  handed  my  valise  to  me;  I  pushed 
back  the  catch  of  the  window  with  the  blade  of 


lOO  THE  WATCHERS 

my  knife,  lifted  it,  threw  my  leg  over  the  sill  and 
silently  drew  myself  into  the  room.  The  room 
was  very  dark,  but  my  eyes  were  now  accustomed 
to  the  gloom.  I  could  dimly  discern  a  great  four- 
poster  bed.  I  shut  the  window  without  noise,  set 
my  valise  in  a  corner,  drew  off  my  boots  and  lay 
down  upon  the  bed. 


CHAPTER  VII 

TELLS    OF    AN     EXTRAORDINARY    INCIDENT     IN 
CULLEN   MAYLE'S   BEDROOM 

-  WAS  very  tired,  but  in  spite  of  my  fatigue  it 
was  some  while  before  I  fell  asleep.  Parmiter 
had  thrown  a  new  light  upon  the  business  to- 
night, and  by  the  help  of  that  light  I  arrayed 
afresh  my  scanty  knowledge.  The  strangeness  of 
my  position,  besides,  kept  me  in  some  excitement. 
Here  was  I  quietly  abed  in  a  house  where  I  knew 
no  one ;  Clutterbuck  might  well  talk  about  im- 
pertinence, and  I  could  not  but  wonder  what  in 
the  world  I  should  find  to  say  if  Dick  was  late  in 
the  morning.  Finally,  there  was  the  adventure 
of  that  night.  I  felt  myself  again  slipping  down 
the  wet  grass  and  dangling  over  the  precipice.  I 
heard  again  that  unearthly  screeching  which  had 
so  frightened  Dick  and  perplexed  me,  It  per- 
plexed me  still.  I  could  not  for  a  moment  enter- 
tain Dick's  supposition  of  a  spirit.  This  was  the 
middle  of  the  eighteenth  century,  you  will  under- 

lOI 


102  THE  WATCHERS 

stand,  and  I  had  come  fresh  from  London.  Ghosts 
and  bogies  might  do  very  well  for  the  island  of 
Tresco,  but  Mr.  Berkeley  was  not  to  be  terrified 
with  any  such  old-wives'  stories,  and  so  Mr. 
Berkeley  fell  asleep. 

At  what  precise  hour  the  thing  happened  I  do 
not  know.  The  room  was  so  dark  that  I  could 
not  have  read  my  watch,  even  if  I  had  looked  at 
it,  which  I  did  not  think  to  do.  But  at  some  time 
during  that  night  I  woke  up  quite  suddenly  with 
a  clear  sense  that  I  had  been  waked  up. 

I  sat  up  in  my  bed  with  my  heart  beating  very 
quick;  and  then  with  as  a  little  noise  as  I  could 
I  gathered  myself  up  in  the  shadow  of  the  bed- 
hangings,  at  the  head.  The  fog  was  still  thick 
about  the  house,  so  that  hardly  a  glimmer  of  light 
came  from  the  window.  But  there  was  some  one 
in  the  room  I  knew,  for  I  could  hear  a  rustle  as  of 
stealthy  movements.  And  then  straight  in  front 
of  me  between  the  two  posts  of  the  bed-foot,  I  saw 
something  white  that  wavered  and  swayed  this 
way  and  that.  Only  an  hour  or  so  before  1  had 
been  boasting  to  myself  that  I  was  London-bred 
and  lived  in  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  centur}\ 
But  none  the  less  my  hair  stirred  upon  my  head, 
and  all  the  moisture  dried  up   in   my  throat  as 


AN  EXTRAORDINARY  INCIDENT     103 

I  stared  at  that  dim  white  thing  wavering  and 
swaying  between  the  bed-posts.  It  was  taller  than 
any  human  being  that  I  had  seen.  I  remembered 
the  weird  screeching  sound  which  I  had  heard  in 
the  hollow  ;  I  think  that  in  my  heart  I  begged 
Dick  Parmiter's  pardon  for  laughing  at  his  fears ; 
I  know  that  I  crouched  back  among  the  hangings 
and  shuddered  till  the  bed  shook  and  shook  again. 
And  then  it  made  a  sound,  and  all  the  blood  in 
my  veins  stood  still.  I  thought  that  my  heart 
would  stop  or  my  brain  burst.  For  the  sound 
was  neither  a  screech  like  that  which  rose  from  the 
hollow,  nor  a  groan,  nor  any  ghostly  noise.  It 
was  purely  human,  it  was  a  kecking  sound  in  the 
throat,  such  as  one  makes  who  gasps  for  breath. 
The  white  thing  was  a  live  thing  of  flesh  and 
blood. 

I  sprang  up  on  the  bed  and  jumped  to  the  foot 
of  it.  It  was  very  dark  in  the  room,  but  through 
the  darkness,  I  could  see,  on  a  level  with  my  face, 
the  face  of  a  woman.  Her  eyes  were  open  and 
they  stared  into  mine.  I  could  see  the  whites 
of  them  ;  our  heads  were  so  near  they  almost 
touched. 

Even  then  I  did  not  understand.  I  wondered 
what  it  was  on  which  she  stood.     I  noticed  a  streak 


104  THE  WATCHERS 

of  white  which  ran  straight  up  towards  the  ceiling 
from  behind  her  head,  and  I  wondered  what  that 
was.  And  then  suddenly  her  body  swung  against 
my  legs.  She  was  standing  on  nothing  whatever  ! 
Again  the  queer  gasping  coughing  noise  broke 
from  her  lips,  and  at  last  I  understood  it.  It  was 
a  gasp  of  a  woman  strangling  to  death.  That 
white  stiff  streak  above  her  head — I  knew  what  it 
was  too.  I  caught  her  by  the  waist  and  lifted  her 
up  till  her  weight  rested  upon  m  arm.  With  the 
other  arm  I  felt  about  her  neck.  A  thick  soft 
scarf — silk  it  seemed  to  the  touch — was  knotted 
tightly  round  it,  and  the  end  of  the  scarf  ran  up 
to  the  cross-beam  above  the  bed-posts.  The  scarf 
was  the  streak  of  white. 

I  fumbled  at  the  knot  with  my  fingers.  It  was 
a  slip  knot,  and  now  that  no  weight  kept  it  taut, 
it  loosened  easily.  I  slipped  the  noose  back  over 
her  head  and  left  it  dangling.  The  woman  I  laid 
down  upon  the  bed,  where  she  lay  choking  and 
moaning, 

I  flung  up  the  window  and  the  cold  fog  poured 
into  the  room.  I  had  no  candle  to  light  and  noth- 
ing wherewith  to  light  it.  But  I  remembered 
that  my  foot  had  knocked  against  a  chair  to  the 
right  of  the  window,  as  I  climbed  into  the  room. 


AN  EXTRAORDINARY  INCIDENT     105 

I  groped  for  the  chair  and  set  it  to  face  the  open 
night.  Then  I  carried  the  woman  to  the  window 
and  placed  her  in  the  chair,  and  supported  her  so 
that  she  might  not  fall.  Outside  I  could  hear  the 
surf  booming  upon  the  sand  almost  within  arm's 
reach,  and  the  air  was  brisk  with  the  salt  of  the 
sea. 

Such  light  as  there  was,  glimmered  upon  the 
woman's  face.  I  saw  that  she  was  young,  little 
more  than  a  girl  indeed,  with  hair  and  eyes  of  an 
extreme  blackness.  She  was  of  a  slight  figure  as 
I  knew  from  the  ease  with  which  I  carried  her, 
but  tall.  I  could  not  doubt  who  it  was,  for  one 
thing  the  white  dress  she  wore  was  of  some  fine 
soft  fabric,  and  even  in  that  light  it  was  easy  to 
see  that  she  was  beautiful. 

I  held  her  thus  with  the  cold  salt  air  blowing 
upon  her  face,  and  in  a  little,  she  began  to  recover. 
She  moved  her  hands  upon  her  lap,  and  finally 
lifted  one  and  held  her  throat  with  it. 

"  Very  likely  there  will  be  some  water  in  the 
room,"  said  I.  ''  If  you  are  safe,  if  you  will  not 
fall,  I  will  look  for  it." 

"Thank  you,"  she  murmured. 

My  presence  occasioned  her  no  surprise  and  this 
I  thought  was  no  more   than  natural  at  the   mo- 


io6  THE  WATCHERS  ^ 

ment.  I  took  my  arm  from  her  waist  and  groped 
about  the  room  for  the  water-jug.  I  found  it  at 
last  and  a  glass  beside  it.  These  I  carried  back  to 
the  window. 

The  girl  was  still  seated  on  the  chair,  but  she 
had  changed  her  attitude.  She  had  leaned  her  arms 
upon  the  sill  and  her  head  upon  her  arms.  I 
poured  out  the  water  from  the  jug  into  the  tum- 
bler. She  did  not  raise  her  head.  I  spoke  to  her. 
She  did  not  answer  me.  A  horrible  fear  turned  me 
cold.  I  knelt  down  by  her  side,  and  setting  down 
the  water  gently  lifted  her  head.  She  did  not  re- 
sist but  sank  back  with  a  natural  movement  into 
my  arms.  Her  eyes  were  closed,  but  she  was 
breathing.  I  could  feel  her  breath  upon  my  cheek 
and  it  came  steadily  and  regular.  I  cannot  describe 
my  astonishment ;  she  was  in  a  deep  sleep. 

I  pondered  for  a  moment  what  I  should  do  ! 
Should  I  wake  the  household  ?  Should  I  explain 
what  had  happened  and  my  presence  in  the  house  ? 
For  Helen  Mayle's  sake  I  must  not  do  that,  since 
Helen  Mayle  it  surely  was  whom  I  held  in  my 
arms. 

I  propped  her  securely  in  the  chair,  then  crossed 
the  room,  opened  the  door  and  listened.  The 
house  was  very  still ;  so  far  no  one  had  been  dis- 


AN  EXTRAORDINARY  INCIDENT    107 

turbed.  A  long  narrow  passage  stretched  in  front 
of  me,  with  doors  upon  either  side.  Renaember- 
ing  what  Dick  Parmiter  had  told  me,  I  mean  that 
every  sound  reverberated  through  the  house,  I 
crept  down  the  landing  on  tip-toe.  I  had  only 
my  stockings  upon  my  feet  and  I  crept  forward  so 
carefully  that  I  could  not  hear  my  own  footfalls. 

I  had  taken  some  twenty  paces  when  the  pas- 
sage opened  out  to  my  right.  I  put  out  my  hand 
and  touched  a  balustrade.  A  few  yards  farther 
on  the  balustrade  ceased ;  there  was  an  empty 
space  which  I  took  to  be  the  beginning  of  the 
stairs,  and  beyond  the  empty  space  the  passage 
closed  in  again. 

I  crept  forward,  and  at  last  at  the  far  end  of  the 
house  and  on  the  left  hand  of  the  passage  I  came 
to  that  for  which  I  searched,  and  which  I  barely 
hoped  to  find — an  open  door.  I  held  my  breath 
and  listened  in  the  doorway,  but  there  was  no 
sound  of  any  one  breathing,  so  I  stepped  into  the 
room. 

The  fog  was  less  dense,  it  hung  outside  the 
window  a  thin  white  mist  and  behind  that  mist 
the  day  was  breaking.  I  looked  round  the  room. 
It  was  a  large  bedroom,  and  the  bed  had  not 
been  slept  in.     A  glance  at  the  toilette  with   its 


io8  THE  WATCHERS 

dainty  knick-knacks  of  silver  proved  to  me  that 
it  was  a  woman's  bedroom.  It  had  two  big  win- 
dows looking  out  towards  the  sea,  and  as  I  stood 
in  the  dim  grey  light,  I  wondered  whether  it  was 
from  one  of  those  windows  that  Adam  Mayle  had 
looked  years  before,  and  seen  the  brigantine 
breaking  up  upon  the  Golden  Ball  Reef.  But  the 
light  was  broadening  with  the  passage  of  every 
minute.  With  the  same  caution  which  I  had 
observed  before  I  stole  back  on  tip-toe  to  Cullen 
Mayle's  room.  Helen  Mayle  was  still  asleep, 
and  she  had  not  moved  from  her  posture.  I 
raised  her  in  my  arms,  and  still  she  did  not  wake. 
I  carried  her  down  the  passage,  through  the  open 
door  and  laid  her  on  the  bed.  There  was  a  cover- 
let folded  at  the  end  of  the  bed  and  I  spread  it 
over  her.  She  nestled  down  beneath  it  and  her 
lips  smiled  very  prettily,  and  she  uttered  a  little 
purring  murmur  of  content  ;  but  this  she  did  in 
her  sleep.  She  slept  with  the  untroubled  sleep  of 
a  child.  Her  face  was  pale,  but  that  I  took  to  be 
its  natural  complexion.  Her  long  black  eye- 
lashes rested  upon  her  cheeks.  There  was  no 
hint  of  any  trouble  in  her  expression,  no  trace  of 
any  passionate  despair.  I  could  hardly  believe 
that  this  was  the  girl  who  had  sought  to  hang 


AN   EXTRAORDINARY  INCIDENT     109 

herself,    whom    I    had    seen    struggUng     for   her 
breath. 

Yet  there  was  no  doubt  possible.  She  had 
come  into  the  empty  room — empty  as  she  thought, 
and  empty  it  would  have  been,  had  not  a  fisher- 
boy  burst  one  night  into  Lieutenant  Clutterbuck's 
lodging  off  the  Strand — when  every  one  slept,  and 
there  she  had  deliberately  stood  upon  the  bed, 
fastened  her  noose  to  the  cross-bar  and  sprang 
off.  There  was  no  doubt  possible.  It  was  her 
spring  from  the  bed  which  had  waked  me  up,  and 
as  I  returned  to  Cullen's  room,  I  saw  the  silk 
noose  still  hanging  from  the  beam. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

HELEN   MAYLE 

A  LOUD  rapping  on  the  door  roused  me.  The 
mist  had  cleared  away,  and  out  of  the  open  win- 
dow I  could  see  a  long  sunlit  slope  of  gorse  all 
yellow  and  purple  stretching  upwards,  and  over 
the  slope  a  great  space  of  blue  sky  whereon  the 
clouds  sailed  like  racing  boats  in  a  strong  breeze. 
The  door  was  thrust  open  and  Dick  Parmiter 
entered. 

**  You  keep  London  hours,  sir,"  said  he,  stand- 
ing at  the  foot  of  the  bed,  and  he  happened  to 
raise  his  eyes.     "  What's  that  ?  "  he  asked. 

That  was  the  silk  scarf  still  dangling  from  the 

cross-bar,  and  the   sight  of  it  brought  back  to  me 

in  a  flash  my  adventure  of  the   night.     With  the 

clear  sunlight  filling  the  room  and  the  bright  wind 

chasing  the  clouds  over  the   sky,  I   could   hardly 

believe  that  it  had  really  occurred.     But  the  silk 

scarf  hung  between  the  posts, 
no 


HELEN  MAYLE  iii 

''  My  God,"  I  cried  out.  ''  What  if  I  had  never 
waked  up  !  " 

There  would  have  been  the  sunlight  and  the 
wind  in  the  sky  as  now,  but,  facing  me,  no  longer 
swaying,  but  still,  inert,  horrible,  I  should  have 
seen — and  I  clapped  my  hands  over  my  face,  so 
distinct  was  this  unspeakable  vision  to  me,  and 
cried  out  again :  ''  What  if  I  had  not  waked 
Up  ! 

'*  You  have  not  waked  up  very  early,"  said  Dick, 
looking  at  me  curiously,  and  recovering  my  self- 
possession  I  hasten  to  explain. 

''  I  have  had  dreams,  Dick.  The  strange  room  ! 
I  am  barely  awake  yet." 

It  appeared  that  I  was  not  the  only  one  to  keep 
London  hours  that  morning.  It  was  close  upon 
mid-day  and  Dick  had  not  waked  me  before,  be- 
cause he  had  not  before  had  speech  with  the 
mistress  of  the  house.  Helen  Mayle  had  risen 
late.  But  she  knew  now  of  my  presence  in  the 
house  and  what  had  brought  me,  and  was  waiting 
to  offer  me  her  thanks. 

In  spite  of  this  news  that  she  was  waiting,  I 
made  my  toilette  very  slowly.  It  would  be  the 
most  awkward,  embarrassing  meeting  imaginable. 
How  could  one  bow  and  smile  and  exchange  the 


112  THE  WATCHERS 

trivial  courtesies  with  a  girl  whom  one  had  saved 
from  that  silk  noose  some  eight  hours  before? 
With  what  countenance  would  she  greet  me  ? 
Would  she  resent  my  interference  ?  Dick,  how- 
ever, had  plainly  noticed  nothing  unusual  in  her 
demeanour ;  I  consoled  myself  with  that  reflec- 
tion. He  noticed,  however,  something  unusual 
here  in  my  room,  for  as  I  tied  my  cravat  before 
the  mirror  I  saw  that  he  was  curiously  looking  at 
the  silk  scarf. 

"  Perhaps  you  have  seen  it  before,"  said  I 
without  turning  round.  Dick  started,  then  he 
coloured. 

"  I  was  wondering  why  it  hung  there,"  said  he. 

"  It  is  curious,"  said  I  calmly,  and  I  stood  upon 
the  bed  and  with  some  trouble,  for  the  knots  were 
stiff,  I  took  it  down  and  thrust  it  into  the  pocket 
of  my  coat. 

"  It  is  yours?"  cried  Dick. 

'*  One  silk  scarf  is  very  like  another,"  said  I, 
and  he  coloured  again  and  was  silent.  His  silence 
was  fortunate,  since  if  he  had  asked  to  what  end 
I  had  hung  it  above  my  bed,  I  should  have  been 
hard  put  to  it  for  an  answer. 

"  I  am  ready,"  said  I,  and  we  walked  along  the 
passage  to  the  balustrade,  and  the  head  of  the 


HELEN  MAYLE  113 

stairs  where  I  had  crept  on  tiptoe  during  the 
night. 

I  noticed  certain  marks,  a  few  dents,  a  few 
scratches  on  the  panels  of  the  wall  at  the  head  of 
the  stairs,  and  I  was  glad  to  notice  them,  for  they 
reminded  me  of  the  business  upon  which  I  had 
come  and  of  certain  conjectures  which  Dick  had 
suggested  to  my  mind.  It  was  at  the  head  of  the 
stairs  that  Adam  Mayle  had  stood  when  he  drove 
out  his  son.  The  marks  no  doubt  were  the  marks 
of  that  handful  of  guineas  which  Cullen  had  flung 
to  splatter  and  sparkle  against  the  wall  behind  his 
father's  head.  I  was  glad  to  notice  them,  as  I 
say,  for  the  tragical  incident  in  which  I  had  borne 
a  share  that  night  had  driven  Cullen  Mayle's  pre- 
dicament entirely  from  my  thoughts. 

I  saw  the  flutter  of  a  dress  at  the  foot  of  the 

stairs,  and  a  face  looked  up  to  mine.     It  was  the 

face  which  I  had  seen  on  a  level  with  mine  in  the 

black  gloom  of  the  night,  and  as  I  saw  it  now  in 

the  clear  light  of  day,  I  stopped  amazed.  It  wore  no 

expression  of  embarrassment,  no  plea  for  silence. 

She  met  me  with  a  grateful  welcome  in  her  eyes 

as  for  one  who  had  come  unexpectedly  to  do  her 

a   service,  and   perhaps  a  hint  of  curiosity  as  to 

why  I  should  have  come  at  all. 
8 


114  THE  WATCHERS 

"  Dick  has  told  me  of  you,"  she  said,  as  she 
held  out  her  hand.  "  You  are  very  kind.  Until 
this  morning  I  did  not  even  know  the  reason  of 
Dick's  journey  to  London.  I  was  not  aware  that 
he  had  paid  a  visit  to  Lieutenant  Clutterbuck." 

There  was  a  trifle  of  awkwardness  in  her  voice 
as  she  pronounced  his  name.  I  could  not  help 
feeling  and  no  doubt  expressing  some  awkward- 
ness as  I  heard  it.  Lieutenant  Clutterbuck  had 
not  hesitated  to  accuse  her  of  duplicity  ;  I  at  all 
events  could  not  but  acknowledge  that  she  was 
excellently  versed  in  the  woman's  arts  of  conceal- 
ment. There  was  thus  a  moment's  silence  before 
I  answered. 

"  You  will  accept  me  I  hope  as  Lieutenant 
Clutterbuck's  proxy." 

"  We  had  no  right,"  she  returned,  "  to  expect 
any  service  from   Lieutenant  Clutterbuck,  much 

less    from "  and    she    hesitated   and   stopped 

abruptly. 

"  From  a  stranger  you  would  have  said,"  I 
added. 

'*  We  shall  count  you  a  stranger  no  longer,"  she 
said,  with  a  frank  smile,  and  that  I  might  not  be 
outdone  in  politeness,  I  said  : 

"  If  Dick  had  lacked  discretion  and  told  you  all 


HELEN  MAYLE  115 

that  he  might  have  told,  you  would  understand 
that  the  obligation  is  upon  my  side.  For  whereas 
I  do  not  know  that  I  can  render  you  any  service 
whatever,  I  do  know  that  already  you  have  ren- 
dered me  a  great  one." 

*'  That  is  very  prettily  said,"  she  returned,  as 
she  walked  into  the  parlour. 

"  Truth  at  times,"  I  answered  lightly  as  I  fol- 
lowed her,  ''  can  be  as  pretty  as  the  most  in- 
genious lie." 

So  that  first  awkward  meeting  was  past.    I  took 
my  cue  from  her  reticence,  but  without  her  suc- 
cess.    I  could   not  imitate  her  complete  uncon- 
sciousness.    It  seemed  she  had  no  troubles.     She 
sat  at  the  table  in  a  flow   of  the  highest  spirits. 
Smiles  came  readily  to   her   lips,   and   her   eyes 
laughed  in  unison.     She  was  pale  and  the  pallor 
was  the  more  marked  on  account  of  her  dark  hair 
and  eyes,  but  the  blood  came  and   went  in  her 
cheeks,  and  gave  to  her  an  infinite  variety  of  ex- 
pression.    1  could  hardly  believe  that  this  voice 
which  was  now  lively  with  contentment  was  the 
voice  which  had  uttered  that  kecking  sound  in  the 
night,  or  that  the  eyes  which  now  sparkled  and 
flashed  were  the    eyes   which   had   stared  at  me 
through  the  gloom.     No  doubt  I  looked  at  her 


ii6  THE  WATCHERS 

with  more  curiosity  than  was  convenient ;  at  all 
events  she  said,  with  a  laugh  : 

"  I  would  give  much  to  know  what  picture  Dick 
painted  of  me,  for  if  I  may  judge  from  your  looks, 
Mr,  Berkeley,  the  likeness  is  very  unlike  to  the 
original." 

I  felt  my  cheeks  grow  hot,  and  cast  about  for  a 
reason  to  excuse  my  curiosity.  Her  own  words 
susfcrested  the  reason. 

''  Dick  told  me,"  I  said,  "  of  a  woman  in  great 
distress  and  perplexity,  whose  house  was  watched, 
who  dreaded  why  it  was  watched " 

"  And  you  find  a  woman  on  the  top  of  her 
spirits,"  she  broke  in,  and  was  silent  for  a  little, 
looking  at  the  cloth.  "  And  very  likely,"  she 
continued  slowly,  "  you  are  disposed  to  think  that 
you  have  been  misled  and  persuaded  hither  for  no 
more  than  a  trivial  purpose." 

"  No,"  I  protested.  "  No  such  thought  oc- 
curred to  me,"  and  in  my  anxiety  to  free  myself 
from  the  suspicion  of  this  imputation  I  broke 
through  that  compact  of  silence  upon  which  we 
seemed  silently  to  have  agreed.  "  I  have  no 
reason  for  pride,  God  knows,  but  indeed.  Madam, 
I  am  not  so  utterly  despicable  as  to  regret  that  I 
came  to  Tresco  and  crept  into  your  house  last 


HELEN  MAYLE  117 

night.  Already, — suppose  there  Avas  nothing 
more  for  me  to  do  but  to  wish  you  a  good-morn- 
ing and  betake  myself  back  to  town — already  I 
have  every  reason  to  be  glad  that  I  came,  for  if  I 
had  not  come "  and  I  stopped. 

Helen  Mayle  listened  to  me  with  some  surprise 
of  manner  at  the  earnestness  with  which  I  spoke 
and  when  I  stopped  so  abruptly,  she  blushed  and 
her  eyes  again  sought  the  table. 

"  Yes,"  she  said  quietly,  "  Mr.  Berkeley,  you 
have  guessed  the  reason  of  my  good  spirits.  If 
you  had  not  come,  a  woman  in  great  distress  and 
perplexity  would  be  wandering  restlessly  about 
the  house,  as  she  did  yesterday." 

Her  eyes  were  still  fixed  upon  the  table,  or  she 
must  have  remarked  my  astonishment  and  the 
pretence  would  at  once  and  for  all  have  been  torn 
away  from  between  us.  I  leaned  back  in  my 
chair ;  it  was  as  much  as  I  could  do  to  stifle  an 
exclamation.  If  I  had  not  come,  a  woman's 
spirit  might  be  wandering  to-day  restlessly  from 
room  to  room,  but  the  woman — I  had  the  silk 
scarf  in  my  coat-pocket  to  assure  me  she  would  not. 

"  The  distress  and  perplexity,"  she  continued, 
"  are  not  done  with,  but  to-day  a  hand  has  been 
stretched  to  me  out  of  the  dark,  and  I  must  think, 


iiS  THE  WATCHERS 

to  some  good  end.  It  could  not  be  otherwise,*' 
and  she  lifted  her  eyes  to  mine.  I  did  not  doubt 
their  sincerity.  ''  And — shall  I  tell  you  ?  "  she 
continued  with  a  frank  smile.  "  I  am  glad,  though 
I  hardh^  know  why — I  am  glad  that  the  man  who 
stretched  out  his  hand  was  quite  unknown  to  me 
and  himself  knew  nothing  of  me,  and  had  not  so 
much  as  seen  my  face.  He  helps  a  woman,  not 
one  woman.  I  am  more  grateful  for  that,  I  take 
it  to  be  of  good  augury."  And  she  held  her  hand 
to  me. 

I  took  the  hand ;  I  was  tempted  to  let  her 
remain  in  her  misapprehension.  But  sooner  or 
later  she  would  learn  the  truth,  and  it  seemed  to 
me  best  that  she  should  learn  something  of  it 
from  me. 

"  Madam,"  I  said,  "  I  should  account  myself 
happy  if  I  could  honestly  agree,  but  I  fear  it  was 
not  on  a  woman's  account  that  I  travelled  down 
to  Tresco.  Dick  I  think  had  something  to  do 
with  it,  but  chiefly  I  came  to  do  myself  a  service." 

"  Well,"  she  answered  as  she  rose  and  crossed 
to  the  window  ''  that  may  be.  You  are  here  at  all 
events,  in  the  house  that  is  watched  "  and  then 
she  suddenly  called  me  to  her  side.  ''  Look,"  said 
she,  *'  but  keep  well  behind  '.he  curtain." 


HELEN   MAYLE  119 

I  looked  across  the  water  to  a  brown  pile  of 
rocks  which  was  named  Norwithel,  and  beyond 
Norwithel  over  St.  Helen's  Pool  to  the  island  of 
St.  Helen's. 

**  Do  you  see?"  she  asked. 

I  saw  the  bare  rock,  the  purple  heather  of  St. 
Helen's,  to  the  right  a  wide  shining  beach  of 
Tean,  and  to  the  left  stretching  out  into  the  sea 
from  the  end  of  St.  Helen's  a  low  ridge  of  rocks 
like  a  paved  causeway.  I  pointed  to  that  cause- 
way. 

"  That  is  the  Golden  Ball  Reef,"  said  I. 

"  Yes,"  she  answered,  "  Dick  told  you  the  story. 
You  would  not  see  the  reef,  but  that  the  tide  is 
low.  But  it  is  not  that  I  wanted  to  show  you. 
See !  "  and  she  stretched  out  her  hand  towards 
the  rock  pile  of  Norwithel. 

I  looked  there  again  and  at  last  I  saw  a  man 
moving  on  the  rocks  close  by  the  sea. 

"  He  is  cutting  the  weed,"  said  I. 

*'  That  is  the  pretence,"  said  she.  "  But  so  long 
as  he  stays  there  no  one  can  enter  this  house 
without  he  knows,  no  one  can  go  out  without  he 
knows." 

**  Unless  one  goes  in  or  out  by  the  door  I  used." 

"  That  door  is  within  vie\v^  of  the  Castle  Down. 


I20  THE  WATCHERS 

There  will  be  some  man  smoking  his  pipe, 
stretched  on  the  grass  of  the  Castle  Down." 

"You  have  never  spoken  to  them  ?  " 

"Yes!  They  wanted  nothing  of  me.  They 
only  watch.  I  know  for  whom  they  watch.  I 
could  learn  nothing  by  questioning  them." 

"  Have  you  asked  Captain  Hathaway's  help  ?  " 

Helen  smiled. 

"No.  What  could  he  do?  They  do  no  one 
any  hurt.  They  stand  out  of  my  way  when  I 
pass.  And  besides — I  am  afraid.  I  do  not  know. 
If  these  men  were  questioned  closely  by  some  one 
in  authority,  what  story  might  they  have  to  tell 
and  what  part  in  that  story  does  Cullen  play?" 

I  hesitated  for  a  few  moments  whether  to  risk 
the  words  which  were  on  my  lips.  I  made  an 
effort  and  spoke  them. 

"You  will  pardon  the  question — I  have  once 
met  Cullen  Mayle — and  is  he  worth  all  this 
anxiety  ?  " 

"  He  had  a  strange  upbringing  in  this  house. 
There  is  much  to  excuse  him  in  the  eyes  of  any 
one.  And  for  myself  I  cannot  forget  that  all 
which  people  say  is  mine,  is  more  rightly  his." 

She  spoke  very  gently  about  Cullen,  as  I  had 
indeed  expected  that  she   would,  but  with  suffi- 


HELEN  MAYLE  121 

cicnt  firmness  to  prove  to  me  that  it  was  not 
worth  while  to  continue  upon  this  strain. 

"  And  the  negro  ? "  I  asked.  ''  He  has  not 
spoken  ?  " 

For  answer  she  led  me  up  the  stairs,  and  into  a 
room  which  opened  upon  the  landing.  The 
negro  lay  in  bed  and  asleep.  The  flesh  had 
shrivelled  off  his  bones,  his  face  was  thin  and 
peaked,  and  plainly  his  days  were  numbered. 
Helen  leaned  over  the  bed,  spoke  to  him  and 
pressed  upon  his  shoulder.  The  negro  opened 
his  eyes.  Never  in  my  life  had  I  seen  anything 
so  melancholy  as  their  expression.  The  convic- 
tion of  his  helplessness  was  written  upon  them 
and  I  think  too  an  appeal  for  forgiveness  that  he 
had  not  discharged  his  mission. 

*'  Speak  to  him,"  said  Helen.  "  Perhaps  a 
stranger's  voice  may  rouse  him  if  only  to  speak 
two  words." 

I  spoke  to  him  as  she  bade  me ;  a  look  of  intel- 
ligence came  into  the  negro's  face  ;  I  put  a  ques- 
tion to  him. 

"  Why  does  George  Glen  watch  for  Cullen 
Mayle?" — and  before  I  had  completed  the  sen- 
tence his  eyelids  closed  languidly  over  his  eyes 
and   he  was  asleep.     I  looked  at  him  as  he  lay 


122  THE  WATCHERS 

there,  an  emaciated  motionless  figure,  the  white 
bedclothes  against  his  ebony  skin,  and  as  I  thought 
of  his  long  travels  ending  so  purposelessly  in  this 
captivity  of  sleep,  I  was  filled  with  a  great  pity. 
Helen  uttered  a  moan,  she  turned  towards  me 
wringing  her  hands. 

"  And  there's  our  secret,**  she  cried,  "  the  secret 
which  we  must  know  and  which  this  poor  negro 
burns  to  tell  and  it's  locked  up  within  him  !  Bolts 
and  bars,"  she  burst  out,  "  what  puny  things  they 
seem  !  One  can  break  bolts,  one  can  sever  bars, 
but  a  secret  buried  within  a  man,  how  shall  one 
unearth  it  .f* " 

It  just  occurred  to  me  that  she  stopped  with 
unusual  abruptness,  but  I  was  looking  at  the 
negro,  I  was  still  occupied  with  pity. 

"  Heaven  send  my  journey  does  not  end  so 
vainly  as  his,"  I  said  solemnly.  I  turned  to  Helen 
and  I  saw  that  she  was  staring  at  me  with  a  great 
astonishment,  and  concern  for  which  I  could  not 
account. 

"  I  have  a  conjecture  to  tell  you  of,"  said  I, 
"  I  do  not  know  that  it  is  of  value." 

"  Let  us  go  downstairs,"  she  replied,  "  and  you 
shall  tell  me,"  but  she  spoke  slowly  as  though 
she  was  puzzled  with  some  other  matter.     As  we 


HELEN  MAYLE  123 

went  downstairs  I  heard  Dick  Parmiter's  voice  and 
could  understand  the  words   he  said.     I  stopped. 

''Where  is  Dick  ?  " 

"  Most  Hkely  in  the  kitchen." 

When  we  were  come  to  the  foot  of  the  stairs  I 
asked  where  the  kitchen  was? 

"  At  the  end  of  that  passage  across  the  hall," 
she  answered. 

Upon  that  I  called  Dick.  I  heard  a  door 
open  and  shut,  and  Dick  came  into  the  hall. 

"  The  kitchen  door  was  closed,"  said  I,  "  I  do 
not  know  but  what  my  conjecture  may  have  some 
value  after  all." 

Helen  Mayle  walked  into  the  parlour,  Dick  fol- 
lowed her.  As  I  crossed  the  hall  my  coat  caught 
on  the  back  of  a  chair.  Whilst  I  was  disengaging 
my  coat,  I  noticed  that  an  end  of  the  white  scarf 
was  hanging  from  my  pocket  and  that  the  initials 
"  H.  M."  were  embroidered  upon  it.  I  recol- 
lected then  how  Helen  Mayle  had  abruptly  ended 
her  outcry  concerning  the  bolts  and  bars,  and 
how  she  had  looked  at  me  and  how  she  had 
spoken.  Had  she  noticed  the  scarf?  I  thrust  it 
back  into  my  pocket  and  took  care  that  the  flap 
of  the  pocket  should  hide  it  completely.  Then  I, 
too,  went  into  the  parlour.     But  as  I  entered  the 


124  THE  WATCHERS 

room  I  saw  then  Helen's  eyes  went  at  once  to 
my  pocket.  She  had,  then,  noticed  the  scarf.  It 
seemed,  however,  that  she  was  no  longer  per- 
plexed as  to  how  I  came  by  it.  But,  on  the  other 
hand,  it  was  my  turn  to  be  perplexed.  For,  as 
she  raised  her  eyes  from  my  pocket,  our  glances 
crossed.  It  was  evident  to  her  that  I  had  de- 
tected her  look  and  understood  it.  Yet  she 
smiled — without  any  embarrassment ;  it  was  as 
though  she  thought  I  had  stolen  her  scarf  for  a 
favour  and  she  forgave  the  theft.  And  then  she 
blushed.  That,  however,  she  was  very  ready  to 
do  upon  all  occasions. 


CHAPTER  IX 

TELLS   OF  A  STAIN   UPON   A   WHITE   FROCK,  AND 
A   LOST  KEY 

Helen  drew  a  chair  to  the  table  and  waited 
with  her  hands  folded  before  her. 

"  Dick,"  said  I,  turning  to  the  lad,  who  stood 
just  within  the  door,  "  that  oath  of  yours." 

"  I  have  broken  it  already,"  said  he. 

"  There  was  never  priest  in  the  world  who 
would  refuse  to  absolve  you.  The  virtue  of  it 
lies  in  the  forswearing.  Now  !  "  and  I  turned  to 
Helen.     "  But  I  must  speak  frankly,"  I  premised. 

She  nodded  her  assent. 

"  Very  well.  I  can  make  a  consecutive  sort  of 
story,  but  I  may  well  be  at  fault,  for  my  knowl- 
edge is  scanty,  and  if  I  am  in  error  over  the  facts, 
I  beg  you.  Miss  Mayle,  to  correct  me.  Old  Mr. 
Mayle's  talk  ran  continually  about  his  wild  doings 
on  the  Guinea  coast,  in  Africa.  There  can  be  no 
doubt  that  he  spent  some  considerable  portion  of 
his  life  there,  and  that  he   managed   to   scrape 


126  THE  WATCHERS 

together  a  sufficient  fortune.  It  is  likely,  there- 
fore, that  he  was  engaged  in  the  slave  trade,  and, 
to  be  quite  frank,  Miss  Helen,  from  what  I  have 
gathered  of  his  manner  and  style,  I  am  not  indis- 
posed to  think  that  he  found  an  occasional  diver- 
sion from  that  pursuit  in  a  little  opportune 
piracy." 

I  made  the  suggestion  with  some  diffidence,  for 
the  old  man,  whatever  his  sins,  had  saved  her 
life,  and  shown  her  much  affection,  of  which,  more- 
over, at  his  death  he  had  given  her  very  tangible 
proofs.  It  was  necessary  for  me,  however,  to  say 
it,  for  I  had  nothing  but  suspicion  to  go  upon, 
and  I  looked  to  her  in  some  way,  either  by  words 
or  manner,  to  confirm  or  confute  my  suspicions. 
And  it  seemed  to  me  that  she  confirmed  it,  for 
she  simply  pressed  the  palms  of  her  hands  to  her 
forehead,  and  said  quietly, 

**  You  are  very  frank." 

*'  There  is  no  other  way  but  frankness,  believe 
me,"  I  returned.  "  Now  let  us  come  to  that 
Sunday,  four  years  ago,  when  Cullen  Mayle  sat  in 
the  stocks  and  George  Glen  came  to  Tresco.  It 
was  you  who  took  George  Glen  to  St.  Mary's 
Church,"  I  turned  to  Dick  Parmiter. 

"Yes."  said  he.     ''I  was  kicking  my  heels  in 


A  LOST  KEY  127 

the  sand,  close  to  our  cottage,  when  he  came 
ashore  in  a  boat.  He  was  most  anxious  to  speak 
with  Mr.  Mayle." 

"  So  you  carried  him  across  to  St.  Mary's,  and 
he  told  you,  I  think,  that  he  had  been  quarter- 
master with  Adam  Mayle  at  Whydah,  on  the 
Guinea  coast  ?" 

*'  Yes." 

*'  Did  he  name  the  ship  by  any  chance?  " 

*'  No." 

*'  He  did  once,  whilst  we  were  at  supper,"  in- 
terrupted Helen,  "and  I  remember  the  name  very 
well,  for  my  father  turned  upon  him  fiercely  when 
he  spoke  it,  and  Mr.  Glen  immediately  said  that 
he  was  mistaken  and  substituted  another  name, 
which  I  have  forgotten.  The  first  name  was  the 
Royal  For  time  y 

"  The  Royal  Fortune,''  said  I,  thoughtfully.  The 
name  in  a  measure  was  familiar  to  me  ;  it  seemed 
familiar  too  in  precisely  this  connection  with  the 
Guinea  coast.  But  I  could  not  be  sure.  I  was 
anxious  to  discover  George  Glen's  business  with 
Adam  Mayle,  and  very  likely  my  anxiety  misled 
me  into  imagining  clues  where  there  were  none. 
I  put  the  name  away  in  my  mind  and  went  on 
with  my  conjecture. 


128  THE  WATCHERS 

"  Now  on  that  Sunday  George  Glen  met  Adam 
Mayle  in  the  churchyard,  you,  Miss  Mayle,  and 
Lieutenant  Clutterbuck  were  of  the  party.  To- 
gether you  sailed  across  to  Tresco.  So  that 
George  Glen  could  have  had  no  private  word  with 
Mr.  Mayle." 

"  No,"  Helen  Mayle  agreed.  "  There  was  no 
opportunity." 

"  Nor  was  there  an  opportunity  all  that  after- 
noon and  evening,  until  CuUen  left  the  house." 

"  But  after  Cullen  had  gone,"  said  she,  "  they 
had  their  opportunity  and  made  use  of  it.  I  left 
them  together  in  my  father's  room. 

"  The  room  fitted  up  as  a  cabin,  where  every 
word  they  spoke  could  be  heard  though  the  door 
was  shut  and  the  eavesdropper  need  not  even 
trouble  to  lay  his  ear  to  the  keyhole." 

"  Yes,  that  is  true,"  said  Helen.  "  But  the  serv- 
ants were  in  bed,  and  there  was  no  one  to  hear." 

At  that  Dick  gave  a  start  and  a  jump,  and  I 

cried : 

"  But  there  was  some  one  to  hear.  Tell  your 
story,  Dick ! "  and  Dick  told  how  Cullen  Mayle 
had  climbed  through  the  window,  and  how  some 
hours  after  he  had  waked  him  up  and  sworn  him 
to  secrecy. 


A  LOST  KEY  129 

"  Now,  do  you  see  ?  "  I  continued.  **  Why 
should  Cullen  Mayle  have  sworn  Dick  here  to 
silence  unless  he  had  discovered  some  sort  of 
secret  which  might  prove  of  value  to  himself,  un- 
less he  had  overhead  George  Glen  talking  to  Adam 
Mayle?  And  there's  this  besides.  Where  has 
Cullen  Mayle  been  these  last  two  years  ?  I  can 
tell  you  that." 

''You  can?"  said  Helen.  She  was  leaning 
across  the  table,  her  face  all  lighted  up  with  ex- 
citement. 

"  Yes.  There's  the  negro  above  stairs  for  one 
thing,  Cullen's  servant.  For  another  I  met  Cullen 
Mayle  on  the  road  as  I  was  travelling  here.  He 
counterfeited  an  ague,  which  he  told  me  he  had 
caught  on  the  Guinea  coast.  The  ague  was 
counterfeit,  but  very  likely  he  has  been  on  the 
Guinea  coast." 

'*  Of  course,"  cried  Dick. 

*'  Not  a  doubt  of  it,"  said  Helen. 

"  So  this  is  my  theory.      George  Glen  came  to 

enlist   Adam    Mayle's   help   and    Adam    Mayle's 

money,  in  some  voyage  to  Africa.     Cullen  Mayle 

overheard  it,  and   got  the  start  of  George  Glen. 

So  here's  George  Glen  back  again  upon  Tresco, 

and  watching  for  Cullen  Mayle." 
9 


I30  THE  WATCHERS 

"  See  !  "  cried  Helen  suddenly.  "  Did  I  not  tell 
you  you  were  sent  here  to  a  good  end  ?  " 

"  But  we  are  not  out  of  the  wood  yet,"  I  pro- 
tested. "  We  have  to  discover  what  it  was  that 
Glen  proposed  to  Mr.  Mayle.  How  shall  we  do 
that?" 

"  How?  '*  repeated  Helen,  and  she  looked  to  me 
confidently  for  the  answer. 

"  I  can  think  of  but  one  way,"  said  I,  "  to  go 
boldly  to  George  Glen  and  make  terms  with  him." 

"  Would  he  speak,  do  you  think  ?  " 

"  Most  likely  not,"  I  ansv/ered,  and  so  in  spite 
of  my  fine  conjecture,  we  did  not  seem  to  have 
come  any  nearer  to  an  issue.  We  were  both  of 
us  silent  for  some  while.  The  very  confidence 
which  Helen  displayed  stung  me  into  an  activity 
of  thought.  Helen  herself  was  sunk  in  an  ab- 
straction, and  in  that  abstraction  she  spoke. 

*'  You  are  hurt,"  she  said. 

My  right  hand  was  resting  upon  the  table.  It 
was  cut  in  one  or  two  places,  and  covered  with 
scratches. 

*'  It  is  nothing,"  said  I,  *'  I  slipped  on  the  hill 
yesterday  night  and  cut  it  with  the  gorse  ;  "  and 
again  we  fell  to  silence. 

"  What  I  am  thinking   is   this,"   she   said,  at 


A  LOST  KEY  131 

length.  '*  You  overtook  CuUen  upon  the  road, 
and  you  reached  the  islands  last  night.  At  any 
moment  then  we  may  expect  his  coming." 

*'  Why,  that's  true,"  said  I,  springing  up  to  my 
feet.  ''And  if  Dick  will  sail  me  across  to  St. 
Mary's,  we'll  make  a  shift  to  stop  him." 

Helen  Mayle  rose  at  that  moment  from  her 
seat.  She  was  wearing  a  white  frock,  and  upon 
one  side  of  it  I  noticed  for  the  first  time  a  red 
smear  or  two,  as  though  she  had  brushed  against 
paint — or  blood.  I  looked  at  my  hand  scratched 
and  torn  by  the  gorse  bush.  It  would  have  been 
bleeding  at  the  time  when  a  woman,  coming 
swiftly  past  us  in  the  fog,  brushed  against  it. 
The  woman  was  certainly  hurrying  in  the  direction 
of  this  house. 

''  You  have  told  me  everything,  I  suppose,"  I 
said—"  everything  at  all  events  that  it  concerns 
me  to  know." 

*'  Everything,"  she  replied. 

We  crossed  that  afternoon  to  St.  Mary's.  There 
was  no  sign  of  Cullen  Mayle  at  Hugh  Town.  No 
one  had  seen  him  or  heard  of  his  coming.  He 
had  not  landed  upon  St.  Mary's.  I  thought  it 
possible  that  he  might  not  have  touched  St.  Mary's 
at  all,  but  rowed  ashore  to  Tresco  even  as  I  had 


132  THE  WATCHERS 

done.  But  no  ship  had  put  into  the  Road  that 
day  but  one  which  brought  Castile  soap  from 
Marseilles.  We  sailed  back  to  Tresco,  and  ran 
the  boat's  nose  into  the  sand  not  twenty  yards 
from  the  door  of  the  house  on  Merchant's  Point. 
A  man,  an  oldish,  white-haired  man,  loitering  upon 
the  beach  very  civilly  helped  us  to  run  the  boat 
up  out  of  the  water.  We  thanked  him,  and  he 
touched  his  hat  and  answered  with  something  of 
a  French  accent,  which  surprised  me.  But  as  we 
walked  up  to  the  house, 

"  That's  one  of  the  five,"  Dick  explained.  "  He 
came  on  the  boat  with  the  negro  to  Penzance. 
Peter  Tortue  he  is  called,  and  he  was  loitering 
there  on  purpose  to  get  a  straight  look  at  you." 

"Well,"  said  I,  "it  is  at  all  events  known  that 
I  am  here,"  and  going  into  the  house  I  found 
Helen  Mayle  eagerly  waiting  for  our  return.  I 
told  her  that  Cullen  Mayle  could  not  by  any 
means  have  yet  reached  the  Scillies,  and  that  we 
had  left  word  with  the  harbour  master  upon  St. 
Mary's  to  detain  him  if  he  landed  ;  at  which  she 
expressed  great  relief. 

"  And  since  it  is  known  I  am  here,"  I  added, 
"  it  will  be  more  suitable  if  I  carry  my  valise  over 
to  New  Grimsby  and  seek  a  bed  at  the  '  Palace  * 


A  LOST  KEY  I33 

Inn.  I  shall  besides  make  the  acquaintance  of 
Mr.  George  Glen.  It  is  evident  that  he  and  his 
fellows  intend  no  hurt  to  you,  so  that  you  may 
sleep  in  peace." 

''  No,"  said  she,  bravely  enough.     "  I  am  not 
afraid  for  myself." 

"  And  you  will  do  that?" 
"  What  ?  "  she  asked. 

"  Sleep  in  peace,"  said  I ;  and  putting  my  hand  . 
into  my  pocket  as  if  by  accident,  I  let  her  see 
again  the  corner  of   her  white   scarf.     Her   face 
flushed  a  little  as  she  saw  it. 

"  Oh,  yes,"  she  answered,  and  to  my  surprise 
with  the  easiest  laugh  imaginable.  "  I  shall  sleep 
in  peace.     You  need  have  no  fear." 

I  could  not  understand  her.  What  a  passion 
of  despair  it  must  have  needed  to  string  her  to 
that  act  of  death  last  night!  Yet  to-day— she 
could  even  allude  to  it  with  a  laugh.  I  was  lost 
in  perplexity,  but  I  had  this  one  sure  thing  to 
comfort  me.  She  was  to-day  hopeful,  however 
much  she  despaired  yesterday.  She  relied  upon 
me  to  rescue  CuUen  from  his  peril.  I  was  not  sure 
that  I  should  be  doing  her  the  service  she  imagined 
it  to  be,  even  if  I  succeeded.  But  she  loved  him, 
and  looked  to  me  to  help  her.     So  that  I,  too, 


134  THE  WATCHERS 

could  sleep  in  peace  without  fear  that  to-night 
another  scarf  would  be  fetched  out  to  do  the  office 
this  one  I  kept  had  failed  to  do. 

I  gave  Dick  my  valise  to  carry  across  the  island, 
and  waited  until  he  was  out  of  sight  before  I 
started.  Then  I  walked  to  the  palisade  at  the 
end  of  the  house.  I  found  a  spot  where  the  pali- 
sade was  broken ;  the  splintered  wood  was  fresh 
and  clean  ;  it  was  I  who  had  broken  the  palisade 
last  night.  From  that  point  I  marched  straight 
up  the  hill  through  the  gorse,  and  when  I  had 
walked  for  about  twenty  minutes  I  stopped  and 
looked  about  me.  I  struck  away  to  my  left,  and 
after  a  little  I  stopped  again.  I  marched  up  and 
down  that  hill,  to  the  right,  to  the  left,  for  perhaps 
the  space  of  an  hour,  and  at  last  I  came  upon  that 
for  which  I  searched — a  steep  slope  where  the  grass 
was  crushed,  and  underneath  that  slope  a  sheer 
descent.  On  the  brink  of  the  precipice — for  that 
I  judged  it  to  be — I  saw  a  broken  gorse-bush.  I 
lay  down  on  my  face  and  carefully  crawled  down  the 
slope.  The  roots  of  the  gorse-bush  still  held 
firmly  in  the  ground.  I  clutched  it  in  my  left 
hand,  dug  the  nails  of  my  right  through  the  grass 
into  the  soil  and  leaned  over.  My  precipice  was 
no  more  than  a  hollow  some  twenty  feet  deep, 


A  LOST  KEY  135 

and  had  I  slipped  yesterday  night,  I  should  not 
have  fallen  even  those  twenty  feet ;  for  a  sort  of 
low  barn  was  built  in  the  hollow,  with  its  back 
leaning  against  the  perpendicular  wall.  I  should 
have  dropped  perhaps  ten  feet  on  to  the  roof  of 
this  barn. 

I  drew  myself  up  the  hill  again  and  sat  down. 
The  evening  was  very  quiet  and  still.  I  was  near 
to  the  summit  of  the  island.  Over  my  left  shoulder 
I  could  see  the  sun  setting  far  away  in  the  Atlantic, 
and  the  waves  rippling  gold.  Beneath  me  was 
the  house,  a  long  one-storied  building  of  granite, 
on  the  horn  of  a  tiny  bay.  The  windows  looked 
across  the  bay ;  behind  the  house  stretched  that 
tangled  garden,  and  at  the  end  of  the  garden  rose 
the  Merchant's  Rock.  As  it  stood  thus  in  the 
evening  light,  with  the  smoke  curling  from  its 
chimneys,  and  the  sea  murmuring  at  its  door,  it 
seemed  quite  impossible  to  believe  that  any  story 
of  turmoil  and  strife  and  tragedy  could  have 
locality  there.  That  old  buccaneer  Adam  Mayle, 
and  his  soft-voiced  son  Cullen,  whom  he  had 
turned  adrift,  seemed  the  figures  of  a  dream  and 
my  adventure  in  Cullen's  room — a  hideous  night- 
mare. 

And  yet  even  as  I    looked  footsteps   brushed 


136  THE  WATCHERS 

through  the  grass  behind  me,  and  turning  I  saw  a 
sailor  with  a  brass  telescope  under  one  arm  and 
a  black  patch  over  one  eye ;  who  politely  passed 
me  the  time  of  day  and  went  by.  He  was  a  big 
man,  with  a  great  beard  and  hair  sprouting  from 
his  ears  and  nostrils.  He  was  another  of  the  five 
no  doubt,  and  though  he  went  by  he  did  not  pass 
out  of  sight.  I  waited,  hoping  that  he  would  go, 
for  I  had  a  great  desire  to  examine  the  barn 
beneath  me  more  closely.  It  was  from  the  barn 
that  the  unearthly  screeching  had  risen  which  had 
so  terrified  Dick  Parmiter.  It  was  between  the 
barn  and  the  house  that  a  girl  had  brushed  against 
my  wounded  hand  and  taken  a  stain  of  blood  upon 
her  dress. 

The  hollow  was  only  a  break  in  the  steep  slope 
of  the  hill.  The  barn  could  easily  be  approached 
by  descending  the  hill  to  the  right  or  the  left,  and 
then  turning  in.  I  was  anxious  to  do  it,  to  try 
the  door,  to  enter  the  barn,  but  I  dared  not,  for 
the  sailor  was  within  sight,  and  I  had  no  wish  to 
arouse  any  suspicions.  Helen  had  told  me  every- 
thing, she  had  said — everything  which  it  concerned 
me  to  know.  But  hadshe  ?  I  found  myself  asking, 
as  I  got  to  my  feet  and  crossed  the  hill  down 
towards  New  Grimsby. 


A  LOST  KEY  137 

The  sun  had  set  by  this  time,  a  cool  twilight 
took  the  colour  from  the  gorse,  and  numberless 
small  winged  things  flew  and  sung  about  one's 
face  ;  all  round  a  grey  sea  went  down  to  a  grey 
sky,  and  sea  and  sky  were  merged ;  and  at  my 
feet  the  lights  began  to  twinkle  in  the  little  fishing 
village  by  the  sea.  I  hired  a  bed  at  the  ''  Palace  " 
Inn,  bade  them  prepare  me  supper  and  then 
walked  on  to  Parmiter's  cottage  for  my  valise. 

There  was  a  great  hubbub  going  on  within ; 
Dick's  voice  was  explaining,  and  a  woman's  shrill 
voice  overtopped  his  explanation.  The  cause  of 
his  offence  was  twofold.  He  had  not  been  near 
the  cottage  all  day,  so  that  it  was  thought  he  had 
run  away  again,  and  the  key  of  the  cottage  was 
gone.  It  had  not  been  seen  since  yesterday,  and 
Dick  had  been  accused  of  purloining  it.  I  ex- 
plained to  Mrs.  Parmiter  that  it  was  my  fault 
Dick  had  kept  away  all  day,  and  I  made  a  bargain 
with  her  that  I  should  have  the  lad  as  my  servant 
while  I  stayed  upon  the  island.  Dick  shouldered 
my  valise  in  a  state  of  considerable  indigna- 
tion. 

"What  should  I  steal  the  key  for?"  said  he. 
"  It  only  stands  in  the  door  for  show.  No  one 
locks  his  door   in  Tresco.     What  should  I  steal 


138  THE  WATCHERS 

the  key  for  ? "  and  he  was  within  an  ace  of 
whimpering. 

''Come,  Dick,"  said  I,  ''you  mustn't  mind  a 
trifle  of  a  scolding.  Why,  you  are  a  hero  to  every- 
body in  these  parts,  and  to  one  man  at  all  events 
outside  them." 

*'  That  doesn't  hinder  mother  from  chasing  me 
about  with  an  oar,"  he  answered." 

"  It  is  the  fate  of  all  heroes,"  said  I,  "  to  be 
barbarously  used  by  their  womenfolk." 

"  Then  I  am  damned  if  I  want  to  be  a  hero," 
said  Dick,  violently.  "  And  as  for  the  key — of 
what  consequence  is  it  at  all  if  you  never  lock 
your  door?  " 

"  Of  no  more  consequence  than  your  bruises, 
Dick,"  said  I. 

But  I  was  wrong.  You  may  do  many  things 
with  a  key  besides  locking  a  door.  You  can  slip 
it  down  your  back  to  stop  your  nose  bleeding, 
for  instance ;  if  it's  a  big  key  you  can  weigh  a 
line  with  it,  and  perhaps  catch  a  mackerel  for 
your  breakfast.  And  there's  another  use  for  a 
key  of  which  I  did  not  at  this  time  know,  or  I 
should  have  been  saved  from  considerable  per- 
plexity and  not  a  little  danger. 


CHAPTER  X 

IN  WHICH   I   LEARN    SOMETHING    FROM  AN  ILL- 
PAINTED    PICTURE 

I  TOOK  my  supper  in  the  kitchen  of  the  Palace 
Inn,  with  a  strong  reek  of  tobacco  to  season  it, 
and  a  succession  of  gruesome  stories  to  make  it 
palatable.  The  company  was  made  up  for  the 
most  part  of  fishermen,  who  talked  always  of 
wrecks  upon  the  western  islands  and  of  dead  men 
drowned.  But  occasionally  a  different  accent  and 
a  different  anecdote  of  some  other  corner  of  the 
world  would  make  a  variation ;  and  doing  my 
best  to  pierce  the  haze  of  smoke,  I  recognised  the 
speaker  as  Peter  Tortue,  the  Frenchman,  or  the 
man  with  the  patch  on  his  eye.  George  Glen  was 
there  too,  tucked  away  in  a  corner  by  the  fire- 
place, but  he  said  very  little.  I  paid,  therefore, 
but  a  scanty  attention,  until,  the  talk  having  slid, 
as  it  will,  from  dead  men  to  their  funerals,  some 
native  began  to  descant  upon  the  magnificence  of 

Adam  Mayle's. 

139 


I40  THE  WATCHERS 

"  Ay,"  said  he,  drawing  a  long  breath,  "  there 
was  a  funeral,  and  all  according  to  orders  dictated 
in  writing  by  the  dead  man.  He  was  to  be  buried 
by  torchlight  in  the  Abbey  Grounds.  I  do  re- 
member that !  Mortal  heavy  he  was,  and  he 
needed  a  big  coffin.** 

**  To  be  sure  he  would,"  chimed  in  another. 

**And  he  had  it  too,"  said  a  third  ;  "a mortal 
big  coffin.  We  carried  him  right  from  his  house 
over  the  shoulder  of  the  island,  and  down  past  the 
Abbey  pond  to  the  graveyard.  Five  shillings 
each  we  had  for  carrying  him — five  shillings 
counted  out  by  torchlight  on  a  gravestone  as  soon 
as  the  grave  was  filled  in.  It  was  all  written  down 
before  he  died." 

Then  the  first  speaker  took  up  the  tale  again. 

"  A  queer,  strange  man  was  Adam  Mayle,  and 
queer  strange  sights  he  had  seen.  He  would  sit 
in  that  corner  just  where  you  be,  Mr.  Glen,  and 
tell  stories  to  turn  a  man  cold.  Crackers  they 
used  to  call  him  on  board  ship,  so  he  told  us — 
*  Crackers.'  " 

"  Why  Crackers?  "  asked  George  Glen. 

"  'Cause  he  was  that  handy  with  a  marlinspike. 
A  queer  man  !  And  that  was  a  queer  notion  of 
his  about  that  stick " ;  and  then  he  appealed  to 


AN  ILL-PAINTED  PICTURE         141 

his  companions,  who  variously  grunted  their  as- 
sent. 

"What  about  the  stick?"  asked  Glen. 

"You  may  well  ask,  Mr.  Glen.  It  was  all 
written  down.  The  stick  was  to  be  buried  with 
him  in  his  coffin.  It  was  an  old  heavy  stick  with 
a  great  brass  handle.  Many's  the  time  he  has  sat 
on  the  settle  there  with  that  stick  atween  his 
knees.  'Twas  a  stick  with  a  sword  in't,  but  the 
sword  was  broken.  I  remember  how  he  loosened 
the  handle  once  while  he  was  talking  just  as  you 
and  I  are  now,  and  he  held  the  stick  upside  down 
and  the  sword  fell  out  on  to  the  ground,  just  two 
or  three  inches  of  steel  broken  off  short.  He 
picked  it  up  pretty  sharp  and  rammed  it  in  again. 
Well,  the  stick  was  to  be  buried  with  him,  so  that 
if  he  woke  up  when  we  were  carrying  him  over 
the  hill  to  the  Abbey  he  might  knock  on  the  lid  of 
his  coffin." 

"  But  I  doubt  if  any  one  would  ha*  opened  the 
lid  if  he  had  knocked,"  said  one,  with  a  chuckle, 
and  another  nodded  his  head  to  the  sentiment. 
"  There  was  five  shillings,  you  see,"  he  explained, 
*'  once  the  ground  was  stamped  down  on  top  of 
him.  It  wasn't  quite  human  to  expect  a  body  to 
open  the  lid." 


142  THE  WATCHERS 

*'  A  queer  notion — about  that  stick.** 
And  so  the  talk  drifted  away  to  other  matters. 
The  fishermen  took  their  leave  one  by  one  and 
tramped  heavily  to  their  homes.  Peter  Tortue 
and  his  companion  followed.  George  Glen  alone 
remained,  and  he  sat  so  quiet  in  his  corner  that  I 
forgot  his  presence.  Adam  Mayle  was  the  only 
occupant  of  the  room  for  me.  I  could  see  him 
sitting  on  the  settle,  with  a  long  pipe  between  his 
lips  when  he  was  not  holding  a  mug  there,  his 
mulberry  face  dimly  glowing  through  the  puffs  of 
tobacco,  and  his  voice  roaring  out  those  wild 
stories  of  the  African  coast.  That  anxiety  for  a 
barbaric  funeral  seemed  quite  of  a  piece  with 
the  man  as  my  fancies  sketched  him.  Well,  he 
was  lying  in  the  Abbey  grounds,  and  George 
Glen  sat  in  his  place. 

Mr.  Glen  came  over  to  me  from  his  corner,  and 
I  called  for  a  jug  of  rum  punch,  and  invited  him 
to  share  it,  which  he  willingly  did.  He  was  a 
little  squabby  man,  but  very  broad,  with  a  nervous 
twitting  laugh,  and  in  his  manner  he  was  ex- 
tremely intimate  and  confidential.  He  could 
hardly  finish  a  sentence  without  plucking  you  by 
the  sleeve,  and  every  commonplace  he  uttered  was 
pointed  with  a  wink.     He  knew  that  I  had  been 


AN  ILL-PAINTED  PICTURE  143 

over  at  the  house  under  Merchant's  Rock,  and  he 
was  clumsily  inquisitive  about  my  business  upon 
Tresco. 

"  Why,"  said  I,  indifferently,  "  I  take  it  that  I 
am  pretty  much  in  the  same  case  with  you,  Mr. 
Glen." 

At  that  his  jaw  dropped  a  little,  and  he  stared 
at  me  utterly  discountenanced  that  I  should  be 
so  plain  with  him. 

"As  for  me,"  said  he  in  a  little,  '*  it  is  plain 
enough.  And  when  you  say " — and  here  he 
twitched  my  sleeve  as  he  leaned  across  the  table — 
"  '  here's  old  George  Glen,  that  battered  about  the 
world  in  ships  for  fifty  years,  and  has  come  to  his 
moorings  in  a  snug  harbor  where  rum's  ch^ap, 
being  smuggled  or  stole',  says  you — well,  I  am 
not  denying  you  may  be  right ;  "  and  here  he 
winked  prodigiously. 

"And  that's  just  what  I  said,"  I  returned; 
"  for  here  have  I  battered  about  London,  that's 
worse  than  the  sea,  and  ages  a  man  twice  as 
fast " 

Mr.  Glen  interrupted  me  with  some  astonish- 
ishment,  and,  I  thought,  a  little  alarm. 

"  Why,"  says  she,  "  this  is  no  place  for  the  likes 
of  you — a  crazy  tumbledown   of   a  tavern.     All 


144  THE  WATCHERS 

very  well  for  tarry  sailor  folk  that's  never  seen 
nothing  better  than  forecastle.  But  you'll  sicken 
of  it  in  a  week.  Sure,  you  have  not  dropped  your 
anchor  here.*' 

*'  We'll  call  it  a  kedge,  Mr.  Glen,"  said  I. 

"A  kedge,  you  say,"  answered  Mr.  Glen,  with  a 
titter,  "  and  a  kedge  we'll  make  it.  It's  a  handy 
thing  to  get  on  board  in  a  hurry." 

He  spoke  with  a  wheedling  politeness,  but  very 
likely  a  threat  underlay  his  words.  I  thought  it 
wise  to  take  no  notice  of  them,  but,  rising  from 
my  seat,  I  wished  him  good  night.  And  there 
the  conversation  would  have  ended  but  for  a 
couple  of  pictures  upon  the  wall  which  caught  my 
eye. 

One  was  the  ordinary  picture  which  you  may 
come  upon  in  a  hundred  alehouses  by  the  sea  : 
the  sailor  leaving  his  cottage  for  a  voyage,  his 
wife  and  children  clinging  about  his  knees,  and  in 
the  distance  an  impossible  ship  unfurling  her  sails 
upon  an  impossible  ocean.  The  second,  however, 
It  was,  which  caught  my  attention.  It  was  the 
picture  of  a  sailor's  return.  His  wife  and  children 
danced  before  him,  he  was  clad  in  magnificent 
garments,  and  to  prove  the  prosperity  of  his  voy- 
age he   carried   in   his   hand  a   number  of  gold 


AN  ILL-PAINTED  PICTURE         145 

watches  and  chains  ;  and  the  artist,  whether  it  was 
that  he  had  a  sense  of  humour  or  that  he  merely- 
doubted  his  talents,  instead  of  painting  the  watches, 
had  cut  holes  in  the  canvas  and  inserted  little  discs 
of  bright  metal. 

"  This  is  a  new  way  of  painting  pictures,  Mr. 
Glen,"  said  I. 

Mr.  Glen's  taste  in  pictures  was  crude,  and  for 
these  he  expressed  a  quite  sentimental  admiration. 

**  But,"  I  objected,  "  the  artist  is  guilty  of  a 
libel,  for  he  makes  the  sailor  out  to  be  a  sneak- 
thief." 

Mr.  Glen  became  indignant. 

"  Because  becomes  home  with  wealth  untold?  " 
he  asked  grandly. 

"  No,  but  because  he  comes  home  with  watches," 
said  I. 

Whereupon  Mr.  Glen  was  at  some  pains  to  ex- 
plain to  me  that  the  watches  were  merely  sym- 
bolical. 

"And  the  picture's  true,"  he  added,  and  fell  to 

pinching  my   arm.     "  There's  many  a  landsman 

laughs  ;  but  sailors,   you  says,  says  you,   *  comes 

home  with  watches  in  their  'ands  more  than  they 

can  'old  and  sets  up  for  gentle-folk,'  says  you." 

"  Like  old  Adam  Mayle,  I   adds,"  said   I  ;  and 
10 


146  THE  WATCHERS 

Mr.  Glen  dropped  my  arm  and  stood  a  little  way 
off  blinking  at  me. 

''You  knew  Adam?"  he  said,  in  a  fierce  sort 
of  way. 

"  No,"  I  answered. 

*'  But  you  know  of  him  ?  " 

"Yes,"  said  I,  slowly,  "  I  know  of  him,  but  not 
as  much  as  you  do,  Mr.  Glen,  who  were  quarter- 
master with  him  at  Whydah  on  the  ship  Royal 
Fortune  r 

I  spoke  at  random,  wondering  how  he  would 
take  the  words,  and  they  had  more  effect  than  I 
had  even  hoped  for.  His  face  turned  all  of  a 
mottled  colour ;  he  banged  his  fist  upon  the  table 
and  uttered  a  horrible  oath,  calling  upon  God  to 
slay  him  if  he  had  ever  set  foot  on  the  deck  of  a 
ship  named  the  Royal  Fortwie, 

"  And  when  you  says,  says  you,"  he  added, 
sidling  up  to  me,  "  Old  George  never  see'd  a 
Royal  Fortune^  says  you — why,  you're  saying 
what's  right  and  fair,  and  I  thanks  you,  sir.  I 
thanks  you  with  a  true  sailor's  'eart  "  ;  at  which 
he  would  have  wrung  my  hand.  But  I  had  no 
hand  ready  for  him ;  I  barely  heard  his  words. 
Whydah — the  Guinea  coast — the  ship  Royal  For- 
tune  !     The  truth  came  so  suddenly  upon  me  that 


AN  ILL-PAINTED  PICTURE         147 

I  had  not  the  wit  to  keep  silence.  I  could  have 
bitten  off  my  tongue  the  next  moment.  As  it 
was  I  caught  most  of  the  sentence  back.  But  the 
beginning  of  it  jumped  from  my  mouth. 

''  At  last  I  know  " — I  began  and  stopped. 

*'What?"  said  Mr.  Glen,  with  his  whole  face 
distorted  into  an  insinuating  grin.  But  he  was 
standing  very  close  to  me  and  a  little  behind  my 
back. 

^'  That  my  father  thrashed  me  over  twenty  years 
ago,"  said  I,  clapping  my  hand  to  my  coat  tails 
and  springing  away  from  him. 

"  And  you  have  never  forgotten  it,"  said  he. 

"  On  the  contrary,"  said  I,  "  I  have  only  just 
remembered  it." 

Mr.  Glen  moved  away  from  the  table  and  walked 
towards  the  door.  Thus  he  disclosed  the  table  to 
me,  and  I  laughed  very  contentedly.  Mr.  Glen 
immediately  turned.  He  had  reached  the  door, 
and  he  stood  in  the  doorway  biting  shreds  of  skin 
from  his  thumb. 

"  You  are  in  good  spirits,"  said  he,  rather  surlily. 

"  I  was  never  in  better,"  said  I.  *'  The  motions 
of  inanimate  bodies  are  invariably  instructive." 

I  was  very  willing  he  should  think  me  half- 
witted.     He  went   grumbling   up   the    stairs ;    I 


148  THE  WATCHERS 

turned  me  again  to  the  picture  of  the  sailor's  re- 
turn. Whydah — the  Guinea  coast — the  ship 
Royal  Fortune  I  It  may  have  been  in  some  part 
the  man's  eagerness  to  deny  all  knowledge  of  the 
ship ;  it  was,  no  doubt,  in  some  part  the  picture 
of  those  gold  watches,  which  awakened  my  mem- 
ories. Watches  of  just  such  gold  were  dangling 
for  sale  on  a  pedler's  stall  when  first  I  heard  of 
the  ship  Royal  Fortune.  The  whole  scene  came 
back  to  me  most  vividly — the  market-place  of  an 
old  country  town  upon  a  fair  day,  the  carts,  the 
crowds,  the  merry-go-rounds,  the  pedler's  stall 
with  the  sham  gold  watches,  and  close  by  the 
stall  a  ragged  hawker  singing  a  ballad  of  the  Royal 
Forttme,  and  selling  copies  of  the  ballad — a  ballad 
to  which  was  added  the  last  confessions  of  four 
men  hung  for  piracy  at  Cape  Coast  Castle  within 
the  flood-marks.  It  was  Avell  over  twenty  years 
since  that  day,  but  I  remembered  it  now  with  a 
startling  distinctness.  There  was  a  rough  wood- 
cut upon  the  title-page  of  the  ballad  representing 
four  men  hanging  in  chains  upon  four  gibbets. 
I  had  bought  one  that  afternoon,  and  my  father 
had  taken  it  from  me  and  thrashed  me  soundly  for 
reading  it.  But  I  had  read  it !  My  memory  was 
quickened  now  to  an  almost    supernatural   clear- 


AN  ILL-PAINTED  PICTURE         149 

ness.  I  could  almost  turn  over  the  pages  in  my 
mind  and  read  it  again.  All  four  men — one  of 
them  was  named  Ashplant,  a  second  Moody — 
went  to  the  gallows  without  any  sign  of  penitence. 
There  was  a  third  so  grossly  stupid — yes,  his 
name  was  Hardy — so  stupid  that  during  his  last 
moments  he  could  think  of  nothing  more  impor- 
tant than  the  executioner's  tying  his  wrists  behind 
his  back,  and  his  last  words  were  before  they 
swung  him  off  to  the  effect  that  he  had  seen  many 
men  hanged,  but  none  with  their  hands  tied  in 
this  way.  The  fourth — I  could  not  recall  his 
name,  but  he  swore  very  heartily,  saying  that  he 
would  ra.ther  go  to  hell  than  to  heaven,  since  he 
would  find  no  pirates  in  heaven  to  keep  him  com- 
pany, and  that  he  would  give  Roberts  a  salute  of 
thirteen  guns  at  entrance.  There  was  the  story 
of  a  sea-fight,  too,  besides  the  ballad  and  the  con- 
fessions and  it  all  cost  no  more  than  a  penny. 
What  a  well-spent  penny !  The  fourth  man's 
name,  by-the-bye,  was  Sutton. 

But  the  sea-fight  !  It  was  fought  not  many 
miles  from  Whydah  between  His  Majesty's  ship 
Swallozv  and  the  Royal  Fortune ;  for  the  Royal 
Fortune  was  sailed  by  Captain  Bartholomew 
Roberts,  the  famous  pirate  who  was  killed  in  this 


ISO  THE  WATCHERS 

very  encounter.  How  did  George  Glen  or  Adam 
Mayle  or  Peter  Tortue  (for  he  alone  of  Glen's 
assistants  was  of  an  age  to  have  shipped  on  the 
Royal  Fortune)  escape  ?  I  did  not  care  a  button. 
I  had  my  thumb  on  George  Glen,  and  was  very 
Vv^ell  content. 

There  was  no  doubt  I  had  my  thumb  on  the 
insinuating  George.  There  was  Adam  Mayle's 
fortune,  in  the  first  place ;  there  was  Adam's  look 
when  George  Glen  let  slip  the  name  of  the  ship 
when  he  first  came  to  Tresco  ;  there  was  Glen's 
consternation  this  evening  when  I  repeated  it  to 
him,  and  there  was  something  more  than  his  con- 
vincing than  his  consternation — a  table-knife. 

He  had  come  very  close  to  me  when  I  mentioned 
the  Royal  Fortune,  and  he  had  stood  a  little  behind 
me — against  the  table  at  which  I  had  eaten  my 
supper.  I  had  eaten  that  supper  at  the  opposite 
side  of  the  table,  and  how  should  a  table-knife 
have  crawled  across  the  table  and  be  now  lying  so 
handily  on  this  nearer  edge  unless  George  had 
doubts  of  my  discretion  ?  Yes,  I  had  my  thumb 
upon  him  and  as  I  went  upstairs  to  bed  I  won- 
dered whether  after  all  Helen  would  be  justified 
of  her  confidence  in  believing  that  I  had  been 
sent  to  Tresco  to  some  good  end.     Her  face  was 


AN  ILL-PAINTED  PICTURE         151 

very  present  to  me  that  night.  There  was  much 
in  her  which  I  could  not  understand.  There  was 
something,  too,  to  trouble  one,  there  were  conceal- 
ments, it  almost  seemed  there  was  a  trace  of 
effrontery — such  as  Lieutenant  Clutterbuck  had 
spoken  of  ;  but  to-night  I  was  conscious  chiefly 
that  she  set  her  faith  in  me  and  my  endeavours. 
Does  the  reed  always  break  if  you  lean  upon  it  ? 
What  if  a  miracle  happened  and  the  reed  grew 
strong  because  some  one — any  one — leaned  upon 
it !  I  kept  that  trustful  face  of  hers  as  I  had  seen 
it  in  the  sunlight,  long  before  my  eyes  in  the 
darkness  of  the  room.  But  it  changed,  as  I  knew 
and  feared  it  would, — it  changed  to  that  appal- 
ling face  which  had  stared  at  me  out  of  the  dark. 
I  tried  to  drive  that  picture  of  her  from  my 
thoughts. 

But  I  could  not,  until  a  door  creaked  gently. 
I  sat  up  in  my  bed  with  a  thought  of  that  knife 
handy  on  the  table  edge  to  the  grasp  of  George 
Glen.  I  heard  a  scuffle  of  shoeless  feet  draw  to- 
wards my  door,  and  I  remembered  that  I  had  no 
weapon — not  even  a  knife.  The  feet  stopped  at 
my  door,  and  I  seemed  to  hear  the  sound  of 
breathing.  The  moon  had  already  sunk,  but  the 
night  was  clear,  and  I  watched  the  white  door  and 


152  THE  WATCHERS 

the  white  woodwork  of  the  door  frame.  The  door 
was  in  the  wall  on  my  right ;  it  was  about  midway 
between  the  head  and  the  foot  of  my  bed,  and  it 
opened  inwards  and  down  towards  the  foot ;  so 
that  I  should  easily  see  it  opening.  But  suddenly 
I  heard  the  stair  boards  creaking.  Whoever  it  was 
then,  had  merely  stopped  to  listen  at  my  door.  I 
fell  back  on  my  bed  with  a  relief  so  great  as  to 
surprise  me.  I  was  surprised,  too,  to  find  myself 
cold  with  sweat.  I  determined  to  buy  myself  a 
knife  in  the  morning,  for  there  was  the  girl  over  at 
Merchant's  Point  who  looked  to  me.  I  had  thus 
again  a  picture  of  her  in  the  sunlight. 

And  then  I  began  to  wonder  at  that  stealthy 
descent  of  the  stairs.  And  why  should  any  one 
wish  to  assure  himself  I  slept  ?  This  was  a  ques- 
tion to  be  looked  into.  I  got  out  of  bed  very 
cautiously,  as  cautiously  opened  the  door  and 
peered  out. 

There  was  a  light  burning  in  the  kitchen — a 
small  yellow  light  as  of  a  candle,  but  I  could  hear 
no  sound.  I  crept  to  the  head  of  the  stairs  which 
were  steep  and  led  directly  to  the  very  threshold 
of  the  kitchen.  I  lay  down  on  the  boards  of  the 
landing  and  stretching  my  head  down  the  stairs, 
looked  into  the  room. 


AN  ILL-PAINTED  PICTURE         153 

George  Glen  had  taken  the  sailor  with  the 
watches,  down  from  the  wall.  He  was  seated  with 
the  candle  at  his  elbow,  and  minutely  examining 
the  picture.  He  looked  up  towards  the  stairs,  I 
drew  my  face  quickly  back;  but  he  was  gazing  in 
a  complete  abstraction,  and  biting  his  thumb, 
very  much  puzzled.  I  crept  back  to  bed  and  in  a 
little  I  heard  him  come  shuffling  up  the  stairs.  He 
had  been  examining  that  picture  to  find  a  reason 
for  my  exclamation.  It  was  a  dull-witted  thing 
to  do  and  I  could  have  laughed  at  him  heartily, 
only  I  had  already  made  a  mistake  in  taking  him 
to  be  duller-witted  than  he  was.  For  he  was  quick 
enough,  at  all  events,  to  entertain  suspicions. 


CHAPTER  XI 

OUR  PLANS  MISCARRY  UPON  CASTLE  DOWN 

The  next  morning,  you  may  be  sure,  I  crossed 
the  hill  betimes,  and  came  down  to  the  house 
under  Merchant's  Rock  with  my  good  news.  I 
told  her  the  news  with  no  small  elation,  and  with  a 
like  elation  she  began  to  hear  it.  But  as  I  related 
what  had  occurred  at  the  Palace  Inn,  she  fell  into 
thought,  and  now  smiled  with  a  sort  of  pride,  and 
now  checked  a  sigh  ;  and  when  I  came  to  the 
knife  upon  the  table's  edge  she  shuddered. 

"  But  you  are  in  danger  !  "  she  cried.  *'  Every 
minute  you  are  in  danger  of  your  life,  and  on  my 
account ! " 

"Nay,"  said  I  lightly,  ''you  exaggerate.  The 
best  of  women  have  that  fault." 

But  she  did  not  smile.  She  laid  a  hand  upon 
my  arm,  and  said,  very  earnestly  : 

*'  I  cannot  have  it.  I  am  very  proud  you  count 
the  risk  so  little,  but  you  must  go." 


OUR  PLANS  MISCARRY  155 

"  No,"  said  I,  *'  they  must  go,  and  we  have  the 
means  to  make  them  march.  We  have  but  to  in- 
form Captain  Hathaway  at  the  Garrison  that  here 
are  some  of  Bartholomew  Robert's  fry,  and  we 
and  the  world  will  soon  be  quit  of  them  for 
ever." 

"  But  we  cannot,"  she  exclaimed,  "  for  then  it 
would  be  known  that  my  " — she  hesitated  for  a 
second,  or  rather  she  paused,  for  there  was  no 
hesitation  in  her  voice,  as  she  continued — ''  my 
father  also  was  of  the  band.  It  may  be  justice 
that  it  should  be  known.  But  I  cannot  help  it ; 
I  guard  his  memory.     Besides,  there  is  CuUen." 

It  was  to  CuUen  that  she  always  came  in  the 
end,  and  with  such  excuses  as  a  girl  might  make 
who  was  loyal  to  a  man  whom  she  must  know  not 
to  be  worth  her  loyalty.  The  house  in  which  she 
lived,  the  money  which  she  owned  were  his  by 
right.  She  dreaded  what  story  these  men,  if 
captured,  might  have  to  tell  of  CuUen — she  could 
not  be  persuaded  that  Glen  and  his  friends  had 
not  a  motive  of  vengeance  as  well  as  of  gain, — 
and  that  story,  whatever  it  was,  would  never  have 
been  enacted,  had  not  Cullen  been  driven  penni- 
less from  Tresco.  It  did  not  occur  to  her  at  all 
that  this  house  was  not  Cullen's  by  any  right,  but 


156  THE  WATCHERS 

belonged  to  the  scattered  sons  of  many  men  with 
whom  the  ship  Royal  Fortune  had  fallen  in. 

She  repeated  her  arguments  to  me  as  we  walked 
in  the  grass-grown  garden  at  the  back  of  the 
house.  A  thick  shrubbery  of  trees  grew  at  the 
end  of  the  garden,  and  behind  the  trees  rose  the 
Merchant's  Rock.  On  one  side  the  Castle  Down 
rolled  up  towards  the  sky,  on  the  other  a  hedge 
closed  the  garden  in,  and  beneath  the  hedge 
was  the  sea.  Over  the  hedge  I  could  see  the  un- 
inhabited island  of  St.  Helen's  and  the  ruined 
church  upon  the  summit,  and  a  ship  or  two  in  St. 
Helen's  Pool  ;  and  this  side  of  the  ships  the  piled 
boulders  of  Norwithel.  It  was  at  Norwithel  that 
I  looked  as  she  spoke,  and  when  she  had  done  I 
continued  : 

"  I  do  not  propose  that  we  should  tell  Captain 
Hathaway,  but  I  can  make  a  bargain  with  Glen. 
I  can  find  out  what  he  wants,  and  strike  a  bargain 
with  him.  We  have  the  upper  hand,  we  can  af- 
ford to  speak  freely.  I  will  make  a  bargain  with 
him  to-night,  of  which  one  condition  shall  be  that 
he  and  his  party  leave  Tresco  and  nowhere  at- 
tempt to  molest  Cullen  Mayle." 

But  she  stopped  in  front  of  me. 

"  I    cannot   have    it,"    she    said,    with    energy. 


OUR  PLANS  MISCARRY  157 

"  This  means  danger  to  you  who  propose  the 
bargain." 

"  I  shall  propose  it  in  the  inn  kitchen,"  said  I. 

*'  And  the  knife  on  the  table's  edge  ?  "  she  asked  ; 
"  that  too  was  in  the  inn  kitchen.  Oh,  no  !  no  !  " 
she  cried,  in  a  voice  of  great  trouble.  There  was 
great  trouble  too  in  her  eyes. 

"  Madam,"  I  said,  gently,  "  I  never  thought 
that  this  would  prove  a  schoolboy's  game.  If  I 
had  thought  so,  I  should  be  this  instant  walking 
down  St.  James's.     But   you  overrate  my  peril." 

I  saw  her  draw  herself  erect. 

*'  No ;  it  is  I  who  will  propose  the  bargain  and 
make  the  conditions.  It  is  I  who  will  charge 
them  with  their  piracy." 

*^  How  ?  "  I  asked. 

"  I  will  go  this  morning  to  the  Palace  Inn." 

"  George  Glen  went  out  this  morning  before  I 
rose." 

She  looked  over  to  Norwithel. 

"  There  is  no  one  to-day  on  Norwithel,"  said  I. 

''  I  shall  find  Peter  Tortue  on  the  Castle  Down." 

"  But  I  crossed  the  Castle  Down  this  morning 

"  and  I  suddenly  stopped.     There  had  been 

no  one  watching  on  the  Castle  Down.  There  was 
no    one  anywhere  upon  the  watch  to-day.     The 


158  THE  WATCHERS 

significance  of  this  omission  struck  me  then  for 
the  first  time. 

"  What  if  already  we  are  quit  of  them  !  "  I 
cried.  "  What  if  that  one  tiny  word  Royal  For- 
tune has  sent  them  at  a  scamper  into  hiding?" 

Helen  caught  something  of  my  excitement. 

"  Oh  !  if  it  only  could  be  so  !  "  she  exclaimed. 

"  Most  like  it  is  so,"  I  returned.  "  No  man 
cutting  ore-weed  upon  Norwithel !  No  man 
lounging  on  the  Castle  Down  !  It  must  be  so  !  " 
and  we  shook  hands  upon  that  likelihood  as  though 
It  was  a  certainty.  We  started  guiltily  apart  the 
next  moment,  for  a  servant  came  into  the  garden 
with  word  that  Dick  Parmiter  had  sailed  round  in 
a  boat  from  New  Grimsby,  and  was  waiting  for 
me. 

"There  is  something  new!  "  said  Helen,  clasp- 
ing her  hands  over  her  heart,  and  in  a  second  she 
was  all  anxiety.  I  hastened  to  reassure  her. 
Dick  had  come  at  my  bidding,  for  I  was  minded 
to  sail  over  to  St.  Mary's,  and  discover  if  there 
was  anywhere  upon  that  island  a  record  of  the 
doings  of  the  Royal  Fortune.  To  that  end  I  asked 
Helen  to  give  me  a  letter  to  the  chaplain  there, 
who  would  be  likely  to  know  more  of  what  hap- 
pened up  and  down  the  world  than  the  natives  of 


OUR  PLANS  MISCARRY  159 

the  islands.  I  was  not,  however,  to  allow  that  I 
had  any  particular  interest  in  the  matter,  lest  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Milray  should  smell  a  rat  as  they  say, 
and  on  promising  to  be  very  exact  in  this  par- 
ticular and  to  return  to  the  house  in  time  for  sup- 
per, I  was  graciously  given  the  letter. 

I  found  the  Rev.  Mr.  Milray  in  his  parsonage 
at  Old  Town,  a  small,  elderly  man,  who  would 
talk  of  nothing  but  the  dampness  of  his  house 
since  the  great  wave  which  swept  over  this  neck 
of  land  on  the  day  of  the  earthquake  at  Lisbon. 
I  left  him  very  soon,  therefore,  and  went  about 
another  piece  of  business. 

I  had  travelled  from  London  with  no  more 
clothes  and  linen  than  a  small  valise  would  hold. 
On  setting  out,  I  had  not  considered,  indeed,  that 
I  should  be  thrown  much  into  the  company  of  a 
lady,  but  only  that  I  was  journeying  into  a  rough 
company  of  fisher-folk.  Yesterday,  however,  it 
had  occurred  to  me  that  I  must  make  some  ad- 
dition to  my  wardrobe  and  the  necessity  was  yet 
more  apparent  to-day.  I  was  pleased,  therefore, 
to  find  that  Hugh  Town  was  of  greater  impor- 
tance than  I  had  thought  it  to  be.  It  is  much 
shrunk  and  dwindled  now,  but  then  ships  from 
all  quarters  of  the  world  were  continually  putting 


i6o  THE  WATCHERS 

in  there,  so  that  they  made  a  trade  by  themselves, 
and  there  was  always  for  sale  a  great  store  of 
things  which  had  been  salved  from  wrecks.  I 
was  able,  therefore,  to  fit  myself  out  very  properly. 

I  sailed  back  to  the  Palace  Inn,  dressed  with 
some  care,  and  walked  over  to  sup  at  Merchant's 
Rock— little  later  perhaps.  Helen  Mayle  was 
standing  in  the  hall  by  the  foot  of  the  stairs. 
I  saw  her  face  against  the  dark  panels  as  I  entered, 
and  it  looked  very  white   and  strained  with   fear. 

**  There  is  no  news  of  CuUen  at  St.  Mary's,"  I 
said,  to  lighten  her  fears  ;  and  she  showed  an  ex- 
travagant relief,  before,  indeed,  she  could  barely 
have  heard  the  words.  Her  face  coloured 
brightly  and  then  she  began  to  laugh.  Finally 
she  dropped  me  a  curtsey. 

"  Shall  I  lend  you  some  hair-powder  ? "  she 
asked,  whimsically  ;  and  when  we  were  seated  at 
table,  "  How  old  are  you  ?  " 

"  I  was  thirty  and  more  a  month  ago,"  said  I, 
"  but  I  think  that  I  am  now  only  twenty-two." 

"  As  much  as  that  ?  "  said  she,  with  a  laugh, 
and  grew  serious  in  an  instant.  *'  What  did  you 
discover  at  St.  Mary's  besides  a  milliner?" 

"  Nothing,"  said  I,  "  except  that  the  Rev.  Mil- 
ray  suffers  from  the  rheumatics." 


OUR  PLANS  MISCARRY  i6i 

She  remained  in  the  same  variable  disposition 
during  the  whole  of  that  supper,  at  one  moment 
buoyant  on  a  crest  of  light-heartedness  and  her 
eyes  sparkling  like  stars,  at  another  sunk  into 
despondency  and  her  white  brows  all  wrinkled 
with  frowns.  But  when  supper  was  over  she 
went  to  a  cabinet,  and  taking  from  it  a  violin, 
said  : 

"  Now,  I  will  play  to  you." 

And  she  did — out  in  that  tangled  garden  over 
the  sea. 

''  The  violin  came  to  the  Scillies  In  a  ship  that 
was  wrecked  upon  the  Stevel  Rock  one  Christmas. 
But  the  violin  will  tell  you,"  she  said,  with  a  smile. 
"  My  father  bought  it  at  St.  Mary's  and  gave  it  to 
me,  and  an  old  pilot  now  dead  taught  me ;  "  and 
she  swept  the  bow  across  the  strings  and  the  music 
trembled  across  the  water,  through  the  lucent 
night,  up  to  the  stars,  a  voice  vibrating  with  infi- 
nite wisdom  and  infinite  passion. 

It  seemed  to  me  that  I  had  at  last  got  the  truth 
of  her.  All  my  guesses,  my  suspicions  of  some- 
thing like  duplicity,  even  my  recollection  of  our 
first  meeting  were  swept  out  of  my  mind.  She 
sat,  her  white  face  gleaming  strangely  solemn 
under  her  black  wealth  of  hair,  her  white  hand 


i62  THE  WATCHERS 

flashing  backwards  and  forwards,  and  she  made 
the  vIoHn  speak.  It  spoke  of  all  things,  things 
most  sad  and  things  most  joyous ;  it  spoke  with 
complete  knowledge  of  the  heights  and  the  depths  ; 
it  woke  new,  vague,  uncomprehended  hungers 
in  one's  heart ;  it  called  and  called  till  all  one's 
most  sacred  memories  rose  up,  as  it  were  from 
graves,  to  answer  the  summons.  It  told  me,  I 
know,  all  my  life,  from  my  childhood  in  the 
country  to  the  day  when  I  set  out  with  my  cadet's 
portion  to  London.  It  sang  with  almost  a  psean 
of  those  first  arduous  years — set  them  to  a  march, 
— and  then  with  a  great  pity  told  of  those  eight 
wasted  years  that  followed — years  littered  with 
cards,  stained  with  drink ;  years  in  which,  and 
there  was  the  humiliation  of  it,  my  fellow-drunk- 
ards, my  fellow-gamblers  had  all  been  younger  than 
myself — years  in  which  I  grew  a  million  years  old. 
That  violin  told  it  all  out  to  me,  until  I  twisted  in 
my  chair  through  sheer  shame,  and  I  looked  up 
and  the  girl's  eyes  were  fixed  upon  me.  What  it 
was  that  compelled  me  to  speak  I  could  never  tell, 
unless  it  w^as  the  violin.  But  as  she  looked  at 
me,  and  as  that  violin  sobbed  out  its  notes,  I  cried 
in  a  passionate  excuse  : 

"  You  asked  me  how  old  I  was.     Do  you  know 


OUR  PLANS  MISCARRY  163 

I  never  was  young — I  never  had  the  chance  of 
youth  !  When  the  chance  came,  I  had  forgotten 
what  youth  can  do.  That  accounts,  surely,  for 
those  eight  years.  I  was  tired  then,  and  I  was 
never  young." 

*'  Until  to-night,"  she  said  quietly,  and  the 
ihusic  quickened.  I  suppose  that  she  was  right, 
for  I  had  never  spoken  so  intimately  to  any  one, 
whether  man  or  woman  ;  and  I  cursed  myself  for 
a  fool,  as  one  does  when  one  is  first  betrayed  into 
speaking  of  one's  secret  self. 

She  took  the  violin  from  her  shoulder,  and  the 
glory  of  the  music  died  off  the  sea,  but  lingered 
for  a  little  faintly  upon  the  hills.  I  rose  up  to  go 
and  Helen  drew  a  breath  and  shivered. 

''  This  afternoon,"  said  I,  "  a  brig  went  out 
from  the  islands  through  Crow  Sound,  bound  for 
Milford.     I'll  wager  the  five  were  on  it." 

"  But  if  not  ?  " 

"  There's  the  '  Palace  '  kitchen." 

"  Speak  when  there  are  others  by,  not  within 
hearing,  but  within  reach  !  You  will  ?  Promise 
me  ! 

I  promised  readily  enough,  thinking  that  I 
could  keep  the  promise,  and  she  walked  back  with 
me  through  the  house  to  the  door.     There  is  a 


i64  THE  WATCHERS 

little  porch  at  the  door,  four  wooden  beams  and  a 
slate  roof  on  the  top,  and  half  a  dozen  stone  steps 
from  the  porch  to  the  garden.  Helen  Mayle  stood 
in  the  porch,  with  her  violin  still  in  her  hand. 
She  wished  me  "  Good-night  "  when  I  was  at  the 
bottom  of  the  steps,  but  a  little  afterwards,  when 
I  had  passed  through  the  gateway  of  the  palisade 
and  had  begun  to  ascend  the  hill,  she  drew  the 
bow  sharply  across  one  of  the  strings  and  sent  a 
little  chirp  of  music  after  me,  which  came  to  my 
ears,  with  an  extraordinarily  friendly  sound.  The 
air  was  still  hereabouts,  though  from  the  motion 
of  the  clouds  there  was  some  wind  in  the  sky,  and 
the  chirp  came  very  clear  and  pretty. 

It  was  a  few  minutes  short  of  ten  when  I  left 
the  house,  and  I  set  off  at  a  good  pace,  for  I  was 
anxious  to  keep  my  promise  and  make  my  bargain 
with  George  Glen,  quietly  in  a  corner,  before  the 
fishing-folk  had  gone  home  to  bed.  A  young 
moon  hung  above  the  crest  of  the  hill,  a  few  white 
clouds  were  gathering  towards  it,  and  the  gorse  at 
my  feet  was  black  as  ink.  I  walked  upwards  then 
steadily.  I  had  walked  for  perhaps  a  quarter  of 
an  hour,  when  I  heard  a  low,  soft  whistle.  It 
came  to  me  quite  as  clearly  as  the  chirp  of  the 
violin,  but  it  had  not  the  same  friendly  sound.     It 


OUR  PLANS  MISCARRY  165 

sounded  very  lonesome,  it  set  my  heart  jumping, 
it  brought  me  to  a  stop.  For  I  had  heard  pre- 
cisely that  whistle  on  one  occasion  before,  on  the 
night  when  I  first  crossed  this  hill  with  Dick 
Parmiter  down  to  Merchant's  Rock. 

The  whistle  had  sounded  from  below  me  and 
from  no  great  distance  away.  I  turned  and 
looked  down  the  slope,  but  I  could  see  no  one. 
It  was  very  lonely  and  very  still.  Whoever  had 
whistled  lay  crouched  on  the  gorse.  And  then 
the  whistle  sounded  again,  but  this  time  it  came 
from  above  me,  higher  up  the  slope.  Immediately 
I  dropped  to  the  ground.  The  gorse  which  hid 
them  from  me  might  well  hide  me  from  them.  A 
few  paces  above  me  the  gorse  seemed  thicker  than 
it  was  where  I  lay.  I  crawled  laboriously,  flat 
upon  my  face,  till  I  reached  this  patch.  I  forced 
myself  into  it,  holding  my  face  well  down  to  keep 
the  thorns  out  of  my  eyes,  until  the  bushes  were 
so  close  I  could  crawl  no  further.  Then  I  lay 
still  as  a  mouse,  holding  my  breath,  listening  with 
every  nerve.  I  had  eluded  them  before  in  just 
this  way,  but  I  got  little  comfort  from  that  reflec- 
tion. There  had  been  a  fog  on  that  night,  where- 
as to-night  it  was  clear.  Moreover,  they  had  a 
more  urgent  reason  now  for  persevering  in  their 


i66  THE  WATCHERS 

search.  I  possessed  some  dangerous  knowledge 
about  them  as  they  were  aware — knowledge,  too 
dangerous  ;  knowledge  which  would  harden  into 
a  weapon  in  my  hand  if — if  I  reached  the  Palace 
Inn  alive. 

I  lay  very  still,  and  in  a  little  I  heard  the  brush- 
ing of  their  feet  through  the  grass.  They  were 
closing  down  from  above,  they  were  closing  up 
from  below ;  but  they  did  not  speak  or  so  much 
as  whisper.  I  turned  my  head  sideways,  ever  so 
gently,  and  looked  up  to  the  sky.  I  saw  to  my 
delight  that  the  clouds  were  over  the  moon.  I 
buried  my  face  again  in  the  grass,  lest  they  should 
detect  me  by  its  pallor  against  the  black  gorse. 
I  was  very  thankful  indeed  that  I  had  not  accepted 
that  proffered  loan  of  hair-powder — I  was  dressed 
in  black,  too,  from  head  to  foot ;  I  blessed  the 
good  fortune  which  had  led  me  to  buy  black 
stockings  at  St.  Mary's,  and,  in  a  word,  my  hopes 
began  to  revive. 

The  feet  came  nearer,  and  I  heard  a  voice 
whisper  : 

"  It  was  here."  The  voice  was  Peter  Tortue's, 
as  I  knew  from  the  French  accent,  and  the  next 
instant  a  stick  fell  with  a  heavy  thud  not  a  foot 
from  my  head.     If  only  the  clouds  hung  in  front 


OUR  PLANS  MISCARRY  167 

of  the  moon  !  Round  and  about  they  tramped — 
the  whole  five  of  them.  For  in  a  little  they  began 
in  low  tones  to  curse,  first  of  all  me,  and  after- 
wards Peter  Tortue,  who  had  whistled  from  below. 
Let  them  only  quarrel  amongst  themselves,  I 
thought,  and  there's  a  good  chance  they  will  forget 
the  reason  of  their  quarrel.  It  seemed  that  they 
were  well  on  the  road  to  a  quarrel  at  last ;  a  man, 
quite  young  as  I  judged  from  his  voice,  flung 
himself  down  on  the  grass  with  an  oath. 

*'  But  he  is  here,  close  to  us,"  said  Peter.  '^  I 
heard  the  girl  thrum  good-night  to  him  on  her 
fiddle,  and  then  I  saw  him,  and  followed  him,  and 
whistled." 

"  Well,  it  is  your  business,  not  mine.  Yours 
and  George  Glen's,"  the  other  returned.  I  learned 
later  that  his  name  was  Nathaniel  Roper.  *'  I  was 
never  on  no  Royal  Fortune^  devil  damn  me." 

"  Whist,  you  lousy  fool  " — and  this  was  George 
Glen  speaking.  I  am  sure  he  was  winking  and 
pinching  the  fellow's  arm, — ''we  are    all    in  the 

same  boat  whether  we've  sailed  in  the  Royal " 

and  he  stopped. 

-  All  at  once  there  was  a  dead  silence.  I  have 
never  in  my  life  experienced  anything  so  horrible 
as  that  sudden,  complete  silence.     I  could  not  see 


i68  THE  WATCHERS 

what  caused  it,  for  my  face  was  buried  in  the 
grass,  and  I  dared  not  move.  One  moment  I  had 
a  sensation  that  they  were  gazing  at  my  back,  and 
I  felt — it  is  the  only  way  I  can  express  it — I  felt 
naked.  Another  moment  I  imagined  it  to  be  a 
ruse  to  beguile  me  into  stirring  ;  and  it  lasted  for 
ever  and  ever. 

At  length  one  sound — not  a  voice — broke  the 
silence  :  the  man  who  had  thrown  himself  down 
was  getting  to  his  feet.  But  when  he  had  stood 
up  he  made  no  further  movement  ;  he  stood 
motionless,  like  the  others,  and  the  silence  began 
again  and  again  it  lasted  for  ever  and  ever. 

All  sorts  of  tremors  began  to  creep  over  my 
body  ;  the  muscles  of  my  back  jerked  of  their 
own  accord.  The  suspense  was  driving  me  mad. 
I  had  to  move,  I  had  to  sec,  if  only  to  hinder  my- 
self from  leaping  to  my  feet  and  making  a  head- 
long rush.  Very  slowly  I  turned  my  head  side- 
ways ;  I  looked  backwards  along  the  ground,  until 
I  saw.  The  moon  had  swum  out  from  the  clouds, 
and  the  five  men  were  standing  in  arrested  atti- 
tudes with  their  eyes  fixed  upon  something  that 
glittered  very  bright  upon  the  ground.  I  could 
see  it  myself  through  the  gorse  glittering  and 
burning  white,  like  a  delicate  flame,  and  my  heart 


OUR  PLANS  MISCARRY  169 

gave  a  great  leap  within  me  as  I  understood  what 
it  was.  It  was  a  big  silver  shoe-buckle  that  shone 
in  the  moonlight,  and  the  shoe-buckle  was  on  my 

foot. 

The  game  was  up.  I  thought  that  I  might  as 
well  make  a  fight  of  it  at  the  last,  and  I  jumped 
to  my  feet  suddenly,  with  a  faint  hope  that  the 
suddenness  of  the  movement  might  startle  them 
and  let  me  through.  But  there  was  to  be  no 
fighting  for  me  that  night.  It  is  true  that  the 
men  all  scattered  from  about  me,  but  a  voice  a  few 
yards  to  my  right  thundered,  "  Stand !  "  and  I 
stood  stock-still,  obedient  as  a  charity-school  boy. 

For  Peter  Tortue  was  standing  stock  still  too, 
with  his  right  arm  stretched  out  in  a  line  with  his 
shoulder  and  the  palm  of  his  hand  upturned. 
On  the  palm  of  that  hand  was  balanced  a  long 
knife  with  an  open  blade,  and  the  moonhght 
streaked  along  that  blade  in  flame,  just  as  it  had 
burned  upon  my  shoe-buckle. 

George  Glen  rubbed  his  hands  together. 

•'You  will  lie  down,  Mr.  Berkeley,"  said  he, 
with  his  most  insinuating  smile.  "  You  will  down, 
*  flat  on  my  face,'  says  you." 

''  But  I  have  only  just  got  up,"  said  I. 

Glen  tittered  nervously,  but  no  one  else  showed 


i;o  THE  WATCHERS 

any  appreciation  of  my  sally.  I  thought  it  best 
to  lie  down  flat  on  my  face. 

**  Cross  your  hands  behind  your  back,"  said 
George  Glen,  and  I  knew  he  was  winking. 

"  Any  little  thing  like  that,  I  am  sure,"  I  mur- 
mured, as  I  obeyed.  "  Only  too  happy,"  and  in 
a  trice  I  was  nothing  more  than  a  coil  of  rope.  It 
cut  into  my  wrists,  it  crushed  my  chest,  it  snaked 
round  my  legs,  it  bit  my  ankles. 

"  To  be  sure,"  said  I,  "  they  mean  to  send  me 
somewhere  by  the  post." 

Mr.  George  Glen  sniggered  and  mentioned  my 
destination,  which  was  impolite,  though  he  men- 
tioned it  politely  ;  but  Roper  thumped  me  in  the 
small  of  the  back,  and  thrust  my  handkerchief 
into  my  mouth.  So  I  had  done  better  to  have 
kept  silence. 

Two  of  the  men  lifted  me  up  on  their  shoulders 
and  staggered  up  hill.  In  a  moment  or  two  they 
descended  a  small  incline,  and  I  saw  that  I  was 
being  carried  into  the  hollow  where  the  shed 
stood.  Glen  pushed  at  the  door  of  the  shed  and 
it  fell  open  inwards.  A  great  cavern  of  blackness 
gaped  at  us,  and  they  carried  me  in  and  set  me 
down  unceremoniously  on  the  floor. 

"  Brisk  along  with  that  lantern,  Nat  Roper," 


OUR  PLANS  MISCARRY  171 

said  Glen,  and  the  young  fellow  who  had  flung 
himself  down  on  the  grass  struck  a  light  and 
set  fire  to  the  candle.  The  shed  was  divided  by  a 
wooden  partition,  in  which  was  a  rickety  door 
hardly  hanging  on  its  hinges. 

''  In  there !  "  said  Glen,  swinging  the  lantern 
towards  the  inner  room.  My  bearers  picked  me 
up  again  and  carried  me  to  the  door.  One  of 
them  kicked  at  the  door,  but  it  did  not  yield. 

"  It's  jammed,"  said  the  other,  *'  there's  some- 
thine  'twixt  it  and  the  floor,"  and  raising  a  great 
sea  boot,  he  kicked  with  all  his  might. 

I  heard  a  metallic  clinking,  as  though  a  piece  of 
iron  was  hopping  across  the  stone  floor,  and  the 
door  flew  open. 

They  carried  me  into  the  inner  room  and  set 
me  down  against  the  partition.  There  was  no 
furniture  of  any  sort,  not  even  a  bucket  to  sit 
upon  ;  there  was  no  window  either,  a  thatched 
roof  rested  upon  heavy  beams  over  my  head. 
They  placed  the  lantern  at  my  feet,  four  of  them 
squatted  down  about  me,  the  fifth  went  out  of  the 
shed  to  keep  watch. 

It  was,  after  all,  not  in  the  inn  kitchen  of  the 
Palace  Inn  that  any  bargain  was  to  be  struck.  I 
could  not  deny  that  they  had  chosen  their  place 


172  THE  WATCHERS 

very  well.  Not  a  man  in  Tresco  but  would  give 
this  shed  the  widest  of  berths,  and  if  he  saw  the 
glint  of  this  lantern  through  a  chink,  or  heard, 
perhaps,  as  he  was  like  to  do,  one  loud  cry — why, 
he  would  only  take  to  his  heels  the  faster.  The 
ropes,  too,  made  my  bones  ache. 

I  would  have  preferred  the  kitchen  at  the  Palace 
Inn. 


CHAPTER  XII 

I   FIND   AN    UNEXPECTED   FRIEND 

Glen  bade  Roper  take  the  handkerchief  from 
my  mouth,  and  when  that  was  done  his  creased 
face  smiled  at  me  over  the  lantern. 

"  About  the  Royal  Fortune  f  "  he  said  smoothly. 

Peter  Tortue  nodded,  and  absently  cleaned  the 
blade  of  his  knife  upon  the  thighs  of  his  breeches. 
There  was  no  reply  for  me  to  make,  and  I 
waited. 

"  You  were  over  to  St.  Mary's  to-day  ?  " 

''  Yes." 

"  What  did  you  do  there  ?  " 

"  I  bought  a  pair  of  silk  stockings  and  some 
linen." 

George  Glen  sniggered  like  a  man  that  leaves 
off  a  serious  conversation  to  laugh  politely  at  a 
bad  joke. 

''  But  it's  true,"  I  cried. 

**  Did  you  speak  of  the  Royal  Forttcne  ?  " 

^1Z 


174  THE  WATCHERS 

^'  No,"  and,  as  luck  would  have  it,  I  had  not — 
not  even  to  the  Rev.  Mr.  Milray. 

''  Not  to  a  living  soul  ?  " 

"No." 

"  Did  you  go  up  to  Star  Castle  ?  " 

"No." 

"  Did  you  speak  to  Captain  Hathaway  ?  '* 

"No." 

"  *  There's  poor  old  George,'  you  said.  '  Old 
George  Glen,'  says  you,  '  what  was  quartermaster 
with  Cap'n  Roberts  on  the  Royal- 

"  No,"  I  cried. 

"  Did  you  mention  Peter  Tortue  ?  "  said  the 
Frenchman. 

"  No.  Would  you  be  sitting  here  if  I  had  ? 
There  would  be  a  company  of  soldiers  scouring 
the  island  for  you." 

"  That's  reasonable,"  said  Tortue,  and  the  rest 
echoed  his  words.  In  a  little  there  was  silence. 
Tortue  set  to  work  again  with  his  knife.  It 
flashed  backwards  and  forwards,  red  with  the 
candle  light  as  though  it  ran  blood.  It  shone  in 
my  eyes  and  dazzled  me,  and  somehow,  there 
came  back  to  me  a  recollection  of  that  hot  night 
in  Clutterbuck's  rooms  when  everything  had  glit- 
tered  with   an  intolerable  brightness,   and   Dick 


I  FIND  AN  UNEXPECTED  FRIEND     175 

Parmiter  had  been  set-  upon  the  table  to  tell  his 
story.  I  was  vaguely  wondering  what  they  were 
all  doing  at  this  moment  in  London,  Clutterbuck, 
Macfarlane,  and  the  rest,  when  the  questions 
began  again. 

"  You  came  back  from  St.  Mary's  to  New 
Grimsby  ?  " 

''Yes." 

"  Did  you  tell  Parmiter  ?  " 

"No." 

"  From  St.  Mary's  you  crossed  the  island  to 
Merchant's  Point?" 

''  Yes." 

"  Did  you  tell  the  girl  ?  " 

Here  a  lie  was  obviously  needful,  and  I  did  not 
scruple  to  tell  it. 

"  No." 

Peter  Tortue  leaned  forward  to  me  with  a 
shrewd  glance  in  his  keen  eyes. 

"  You  are  her  lover,"  he  said.  "  You  told 
her." 

I  lifted  my  eyes  from  his  knife,  looked  him  in 
the  eyes,  and  sustained  his  glance. 

''  I  am  not  her  lover,"  I  said ;  ''  that  is  a 
damned  lie." 

He  did  not  lose  his  temper,  but  repeated  : 


176  THE  WATCHERS 

"You  told  her,"  and  George  Glen  looked  in 
aeain  with  his  whole  face   screwed   into   a  wink. 

*'  You  said  to  her,  '  My  dear,'  says  you,  '  there's 
old  George,' "  and  at  that  I  lost  my  temper. 

"  I  said  nothing  of  the  kind,"  I  cried.  "  Am  I 
a  parrot  that  I  cannot  open  my  lips  without  old 
George  popping  out  of  them  ?  But  what's  the  use 
of  talking.  Do  what  you  will,  I  have  done.  If  I 
had  betrayed  your  secret,  do  you  think  I  should 
be  walking  home  alone,  and  you  upon  the  island  ? 
But  I  have  done.  I  had  a  bargain  to  strike  with 
you,  I  thought  to  find  you  all  at  the  inn — but  I 
have  done." 

To  tell  the  truth,  I  had  no  longer  any  hope  of 
life.  Glen,  for  all  his  winks  and  smiles,  would 
stop  short  of  no  cruelty.  Peter  Tortue  quietly 
polished  his  knife  upon  his  thigh.  He  was  a  big 
Brittany  man,  with  shrewd  eyes  and  an  unchanging 
face.  The  rest  squatted  and  stared  curiously  at 
me.  The  light  of  the  lantern  fell  upon  their  cal- 
lous faces,  they  were  lookers-on  at  a  show,  of 
which  perhaps,  they  had  seen  the  like  before,  they 
were  not  concerned  in  this  affair  of  the  Royal  For- 
tune nor  how  it  ended. 

"  So  you  told  no  one." 

"  No  one." 


I  FIND  AN  UNEXPECTED  FRIEND     177 

I  closed  my  eyes  and  leaned  back  against  the 
partition.  I  was  utterly  helpless  in  their  hands, 
and  I  hoped  they  would  be  quick.  I  remember 
that  I  regretted  very  much  I  could  send  no  word 
to  the  girl  at  Merchant's  Rock,  and  that  I  was 
very  glad  she  had  not  delayed  her  music  till  to- 
morrow night,  but  both  regret  and  gladness  were 
of  a  numbed  and  languid  kind. 

Then  Glen  asked  me  another  question,  and  it 
spurred  my  will  to  alertness. 

"  How  did  you  know  that  I  was  quartermaster 
on  the  Royal  Fortune  ?  " 

I  could  not  remind  him  that  he  had  let  the 

ship's  name  drop  from  his  lips  four  years  ago.     It 

would  be  as  much  as  to  say  that  Helen  had  told 

me.     It  would  confess  that  I  had  spoken  with  her 

of  the  Royal  Fortune.     Yet  I   must  answer,  and 

without  the  least   show  of  hesitation.     I   caught 

at  the  first  plausible  reason  which  occurred  to  me. 

I  said:  "  Cullen  Mayle  told  me,"  and  that  answer 

saved   my   life.     For   Glen    remarked,   *' Yes,    he 

knew,"  and  nodded  to  Tortue :  Tortue  lifted  the 

knife  in   his  hand,  and  again  I   closed  my   eyes. 

But  the  next  thing   I  heard  was  a   snap  as  the 

blade  shut  into  the  handle,  and  the  next  thing 

after  that  Tortue's  voice  deliberately  speaking : 
12 


178  THE  WATCHERS 

"  George  Glen,  you  never  had  the  brains  of  a 
louse.  You  can  smirk  and  wriggle,  and  you're 
handy  with  a  weapon,  but,  you  never  had  no 
brains." 

I  opened  my  eyes  pretty  wide  at  that,  and  I 
saw  that  the  three  younger  faces  were  now  kindled 
out  of  their  sluggishness.  It  was  that  mention  of 
CuUen  Mayle  which  had  wrought  the  change. 
These  three  took  no  particular  interest  in  the 
Royal  Fortune,  but  they  had  every  interest  in  the 
doings  of  Cullen  Mayle,  and  they  now  alertly 
followed  all  that  Tortue  said.  George  Glen 
leaned  forward. 

"Who's  cap'en  here,  Peter  Tortue?"  said  he. 
"Was  you  with  us  on  the  Sierra  Leone  River? 
Nat  Roper  there,  Blads,  you  James  Skyrm,  speak 
up,  lads,  was  he  with  us  ?  " 

"  My  son  was,"  said  Tortue  calmly. 

"  And  what  sort  of  answer  is  that  ?  'Tis  lucky 
for  you  Cap'en  Roberts  isn't  aboard  this  shed. 
He  wouldn't  have  understood  that  language,  not 
he — and  he  wouldn't  have  troubled  you  for  an  ex- 
planation neither.  Here's  a  fine  thing,  lads  !  If  a 
man  dies,  his  father,  what's  been  lying  in  the  lap 
of  luxury  at  home,  is  to  have  his  share.  That's  a 
nice  new  rule  for  gentlemen  adventurers,  and  not 


I  FIND  AN  UNEXPECTED  FRIEND     179 

content  with  his  share,  wants  to  set  up  for  cap'en. 
I  have  a  good  mind  to  learn  you  modesty,  Peter, 
just  as  Roberts  would  have  learnt  you." 

He  was  talking  quite  smoothly,  with  a  grin  all 
over  his  face,  but  I  never  saw  a  man  that  looked 
so  dangerous.  Peter  Tortue,  however,  was  in  no 
way  discomposed. 

"  Why,  you  blundering  fool,"  he  answered, 
"where  would  you  ha'  been  but  for  me?  No,  I 
wasn't  on  the  Sierra  Leone  River  v/ith  you,  or  you 
wouldn't  be  eating  your  hearts  and  your  pockets 
empty  upon  Tresco.  No,  I  am  not  your  captain, 
or  you  wouldn't  never  have  lost  track  of  Cullen 
Mayle  at  Wapping." 

There  were  four  faces  now  alertly  watching 
Peter  Tortue,  and  the  fourth  was  mine.  It  was 
not  merely  that  my  life  hung  upon  his  predomi- 
nance, but  there  was  the  best  of  chances  now  that 
I  might  get  to  the  bottom  of  the  mystery  of  their 
watching. 

"You  talk  of  Roberts,"  he  continued,  "well 
you're  not  the  only  man  that  knew  Roberts,  and 
would  Roberts  have  let  Cullen  Mayle  slip  through 
his  fingers — at  Wapping  too  ?  Good  Lord,  it 
makes  me  sick  to  look  at  you,  George  Glen  ! ''  and 
he  turned  to  Roper,  "  Who  was  it  found  the  track 


i8o  THE  WATCHERS 

for  you ;  was  it  him  or  me?"  he  cried.  "Who 
was  it  found  the  nigger  and  sailed  from  the  port 
o'  London  to  Penzance,  ay,  and  would  ha'  found 
out  the  nigger's  message  if  he  hadn't  had  the  sick- 
ness on  him.  Was  it  him  or  was  it  me  ?  Why  the 
nigger  knowed  you  all !  Would  he  ha*  sailed  to 
Penzance  on  that  boat  if  he  had  seen  a  face  on 
board  that  he  had  known  ?  not  he." 

"  That's  true,"  said  Roper. 

"  Who  brought  you  all  to  Tresco,  eh  ?  Who 
hindered  you  from  rushing  the  house,  ay,  hin- 
dered you  in  the  face  of  your  captain,  and  a  deal 
you'ld  ha'  found  if  you  had  rushed  the  house.  A 
lot  he  knows,  your  captain.  P'raps  he  thought 
Adam  Mayle  was  the  man  to  leave  a  polite  note 
on  his  mantelshelf,  telling  us  where  to  look.  Who 
told  you  to  wait  for  Cullen  Mayle  ?  " 

"  We  have  waited,"  answered  Glen.  "  How 
long  are  we  to  wait  ?     Where  is  Cullen  Mayle  ?  " 

Peter  Tortue  threw  up  his  hands. 

"  No  wonder  you  all  dry  in  the  sun  at  the  end 
of  it,"  he  cried,  "  my  word !  We  haven't  got 
Cullen  Mayle,  but  haven't  we  got  the  man  as 
knows  him  ?  What's  he  doing  at  Tresco  if  he 
wasn't  sent  by  Cullen  Mayle  who  daren't  show  his 
face  because  we're  here  ?     Not  worth   my  share, 


I  FIND  AN  UNEXPECTED  FRIEND     i8i 

ain't  I  ?  and  you  that  can't  add  two  and  two ! 
See  here  !  Dick  Parmiter  goes  to  London,  don't 
he?  He  goes  after  the  nigger  come;  what  for, 
but  to  find  CuUen  Mayle,  and  say  as  we're  here? 
He  knows  where  Cullen's  to  be  found,  and  down 
comes  the  stranger  here.  And  we  ha'  got  him 
tucked  up  comfortable,  and  we  know  tricks  that 
Roberts  taught  us  to  make  him  speak,  don't  we  ? 
And  you  want  to  jab  a  knife  into  him.  You  make 
me  sick,  George  Glen — fair  sick !  Suppose  you 
do  jab  a  knife  into  him,  and  bury  him  here  under 
the  stones,  do  you  think  the  girl  '11  take  it  quite 
easy  and  natural  ?  Or  will  you  go  down  the  hill 
and  rush  the  house  ?  And  then  if  you  please, 
what'll  you  all  be  doing  to-morrow  ?  Well,  you 
are  captain,  George  Glen,  but  what  has  your  crew 
to  say  to  this?  Come!  Am  I  to  talk  to  Mr. 
Berkeley,  or  will  you  set  your  own  course,  and 
steer  for  execution  dock?  " 

There  was  no  hesitation  in  the  answer.  With 
one  accord  they  leaned  to  Tortue's  proposal. 

I  could  not  see  that  I  was  in  a  much  better  case. 
Tortue  was  to  put  to  me  questions,  the  very 
questions  which  I  wished  to  ask,  and  I  was  ex- 
pected to  answer  them.  I  should  have  to  answer 
them  if  I  was  to  come  off  with  my  life.     The  men 


i82  THE  WATCHERS 

sat  hungrily  about  me  awaiting  my  answers.  It 
would  not  take  them  long  to  discover  that  I  was 
tricking  them,  that  I  had  no  knowledge  whatever 
about  their  concerns  beyond  that  one  dangerous 
item  that  Glen  and  Tortue  had  sailed  on  the  Royal 
Forttine,  and  when  that  discovery  was  made,  why, 
out  of  mere  resentment  they  would  let  Glen  have 
his  way. 

However,  I  was  still  alive,  and  the  girl  was  still 
at  Merchant's  Point.  These  men  were  plainly 
growing  impatient  of  their  long  stay  upon  the 
island ;  and  once  I  was  out  of  the  way,  who  was 
to  stand  between  them  and  the  girl  ? 

I  summoned  my  wits  together,  and  ran  quickly 
over  my  mind  what  I  did  know.  I  had  a  few 
fresh  hints  from  Tortue's  arguments  to  add  to  my 
knowledge.  I  knew  why  they  were  watching  for 
Cullen  Mayle.  He  was  to  show  them  where  to 
look  for  something.  It  was  that  something  about 
which  Glen  had  talked  to  Adam  Mayle  the  night 
Cullen  was  driven  away ;  Cullen  had  overheard, 
and  he  had  gone  out  in  search  of  it  to  the  Sierra 
Leone  River.  Glen  and  his  companions  had  done 
likewise.  It  was  in  some  degree  apparent  now 
what  that  something  was :  namely,  treasure  of 
some  sort  from  the  Royal  Fortune,  and  buried  on 


I  FIND  AN  UNEXPECTED  FRIEND     183 

the  banks  of  the  Sierra  Leone  River.  They  had 
not  found  it,  and  their  presence  here,  and  certain 
words,  told  me  why.  Adam  Mayle  had  been  first 
with  them. 

So  much  I  could  venture  to  think  of.  For  the 
rest  I  must  wait  upon  the  questions ;  and,  fortu- 
nately for  me.  Glen  was  a  man  of  much  garrulity. 

*'  You  spoke  of  a  bargain,"  said  Tortue.  **  What 
do  you  propose  ?  " 

"  Halves  !  "  said  I,  as  bold  as  brass. 

There  was  an  outcry  against  the  proposal,  and 
it  mightily  relieved  me,  for  it  proved  to  me  I  was 
right.  It  was  treasure  they  were  after,  but  of 
what  kind  ?  I  had  now  to  puzzle  my  brains  over 
that.  Was  it  specie  ?  Hardly,  I  thought,  for 
Adam  Mayle  would  not  have  hidden  money  upon 
Tresco.     Was  it  a  treasure  of  jewels,  then  ? 

"  Halves,"  said  George  Glen  with  a  titter.  ''  A 
very  good  proposal,  Mr.  Berkeley,  by  daylight, 
with  a  company  of  soldiers  within  calL" 

Jewels,  I  thought :  yes,  jewels — jewels  that  might 
be  recognized,  jewels  that  Adam  Mayle  would  keep 
hidden  to  himself  so  long  as  there  was  no  pressing 
need  to  dispose  of  them. 

"As  it  is,"  continued  Glen,  *' we  take  all,  but 
we  give  you  your  life.     That's  a  fair  offer." 


1 84  THE  WATCHERS 

**  Yes,  that's  fair,"  said  Roper. 

I  hazarded  it. 

"  Very  well,"  said  I.  "  You  can  find  your  jewels 
for  yourselves." 

I  expected  an  explosion  of  wrath ;  I  met  with 
only  mute  surprise. 

''  Jewels  !  "  said  Roper  at  length. 

"  Well,  isn't  the  cross  thick  with  them?  "  said 
Tortue  to  Roper. 

''  It  wouldn't  be  of  much  use  to  us  without," 
sniggered  Glen.  ''  Lord,  but  that  was  a  clever 
stroke  of  Roberts' — the  cleverest  thing  he  ever 
done.  Right  under  the  guns  of  the  African 
Comp'ny's  fort  she  lay  in  Sierra  Leone  harbour — 
a  Portuguese  ship  of  twenty  guns.  At  a  quarter 
to  eleven  there  was  her  crew,  as  many  as  might  be 
— we  could  hear  'em  singing  and  laughing  as  we 
pulled  across  the  water  to  'em — and  at  ten  minutes 
past  three  there  wasn't  a  mother's  son  of  them  all 
alive  ;  and  no  noise,  mind  you.  Rich  she  was,  too. 
Sugar — we  had  run  short  of  sugar  for  our  punch, 
and  welcome  it  was — sugar,  skins,  tobacco,  ninety 
thousand  moidors,  and  this  cross  with  the  dia- 
monds for  the  King  of  Portugal.  Roberts  him- 
self said  he  had  never  seen  stones  like  it,  and  he 
was   a  good  judge  of  stones  was  Roberts.     He 


I  FIND  AN  UNEXPECTED  FRIEND     185 

was  quick,  too.  Why,  we  had  that  cross  on  the 
dinghy  and  were  well  up  the  Sierra  Leone  River 
before  daybreak,  just  the  three  of  us — Roberts, 
me,  and  Adam  Mayle — Kennedy  he  called  himself 
then,  being  a  gentleman  born  and  with  more 
sense  than  the  rest  of  us.  He  buried  the  cross, 
two  days  sail  up  the  Sierra  Leone  River,  and 
Roberts  made  a  chart  of  its  bearings.  He  gave  it 
to  me  on  the  deck  of  the  Royal  Fortune  when  he 
was  mortally  wounded,  and  I  kept  it  all  the  time 
we  were  in  prison.  I  showed  it  to  Adam  Mayle 
when  we  escaped,  but  we  had  no  means  to  get  at  it — ■ 
at  least,  I  hadn't.  Adam,  he  was  a  gentleman  born, 
and  had  got  his  savings  placed  all  safe  in  his  own 
name." 

I  hoped  Glen  would  go  on  in  this  strain  until 
my  slip  was  forgotten.  I  was,  besides,  acquiring 
information.     But  Roper  cut  him  short. 

"  It  was  a  cross — it  wasn't  jewels,"  said  he, 
suspiciously;  and  suddenly  Tortue  interrupted. 

''  *  Halves  '  was  what  you  said,  I  think,"  he  re- 
marked, rather  quickly,  and  I  could  almost  have 
believed  that  he  was  trying  to  cover  up  my  mistake. 
I  took  advantage  of  his  interruption  as  quickly  as 
he  had  made  it. 

"  Half  for  you,   half   for  CuUen,"   said   I  ;  and 


i86  THE  WATCHERS 

immediately  Tortue  flung  out  in  an  extravagant 
passion.  He  threatened  me,  he  threatened  CuUen, 
he  opened  his  knife  and  gesticulated,  he  cursed, 
until  I  began  to  wonder :  was  he  acting  ?  Was 
this  anger  a  pretence  to  divert  attention  finally 
from  my  unlucky  guess  ?  I  could  not  be  sure.  I 
could  conceive  no  reason  for  such  a  pretence. 
But  certainly,  whether  he  intended  it  or  not,  he 
brought  about  that  result  ;  for  his  companions  be- 
gan to  fear  he  would  make  an  end  of  me  before 
they  had  got  the  information  where  the  cross  was 
hid,  and  so  busied  themselves  with  appeasing  him. 
He  permitted  himself  at  the  last  to  be  appeased, 
and  George  Glen  took  up  the  argument. 

"  Look  you  here,  Mr.  Berkeley,"  said  he,  "  we're 
reasonable  men,  and  it's  no  more  than  fair  you 
should  be  reasonable  too,  seeing  as  how  you  are 
uncomfortably  placed.  That  was  took  up  by 
Adam  Mayle,  and  he  never  meant  his  son  to 
finger  it.  'A  damned  ungrateful,  supercilious 
whelp,'  says  he  to  me  in  the  lad's  own  bedroom  ; 
yes,  in  his  own  bedroom  " — for,  as  may  be  imag- 
ined, I  had  started.  Here  was  the  explanation  of 
how  Cullen  discovered  George  Glen's  business. 
I  hoisted  myself  up  against  the  partition  as  well 
as  I  could.     How  I  prayed  that   Glen  would  go 


I  FIND  AN  UNEXPECTED  FRIEND     187 

on  !  He  was  sufficiently  garrulous,  if  only  he  was 
not  interrupted,  andhe  was  arguing  for  all  of  them. 
"  *  A  damned  ungrateful,  supercilious  whelp,'  he 
said ;  *  and  George,'  said  he,  as  I  read  out  the 
chart,  '  I'd  sooner  let  the  cross  rot  to  pieces  in  the 
Sierra  Leone  mud  than  fetch  it  home  for  him  to 
have  a  share  of.  I've  enough  for  myself  and  the 
girl.  I'll  not  stir  a  finger,'  says  he,  *  and  if  it  was 
here  now  I'd  have  it  buried  with  me.'  Those 
were  his  very  words,  which  he  spoke  to  me  not 
half  an  hour  after  he  had  driven  CuUen  from  the 
house,  and  in  the  lad's  own  bedroom,  where  we 
couldn't  be  overheard." 

"  But  you  were  overheard,"  said  I,  "  Cullen 
Mayle  overheard  you."  Glen  jumped  on  to  his 
feet,  his  mouth  dropped,  he  stood  staring  at  me  in 
a  daze,  and  then  he  thumped  one  fist  down  into 
the  palm  of  the  other. 

*' By  God  it's  true,"  he  said,  *' he  was  in  the 
curtains." 

*'  He  was  in  bed,"  said  I. 

"  By  God  it's  true,"  repeated  Glen,  and  he  sat 
down  again  on  the  floor.  *'  So  that's  how  Cullen 
Mayle  found  out.  I  was  mightily  astonished  to 
find  him  at  Sierra  Leone  on  the  same  business  as 
ourselves.     But  it's  true.     I  remember  there  was 


i88  THE  WATCHERS 

a  noise,  and  I  cried  out,  *  What's  that  ?  '  with  a 
sort  of  jump,  and  Adam  he  says,  pleasant  like, 
*  It's  the  hangman,  George ; '  but  it  wasn't,  it  was 
CuUen  Mayle." 

I  think  that  every  one  laughed  as  Glen  ended, 
except  myself.  I  could  even  at  that  moment,  but 
be  sensible  what  a  strange  picture  it  made ;  those 
two  old  rufifians  sitting  over  against  each  other  in 
the  bedroom,  and  CuUen  waked  up  from  his  sleep 
in  bed  to  lie  quiet  and  overhear  them. 

"■  So  you  see,  it  isn't  reasonable  CuUen  should 
have  half  since  his  father  never  meant  him  to  have 
any,"  he  continued. 

"  But  without  Cullen  you  would  get  nothing  at 
all,"  said  I. 

"  Why  not  since  we  have  you  ?  " — and  then  I 
made  a  slip — I  answered  :  "  But  Cullen  Mayle  told 
me  where  the  cross  is." 

"But  Cullen  Mayle  doesn't  know,"  said  Roper, 
"  else  would  he  have  gone  hunting  to  Sierra  Leone 
for  it?" 

"  Told  him  where  to  look  for  the  plan,  he 
means."  Tortue  interrupted  again.  This  time  I 
could  not  mistake.  He  glanced  at  me  with  too 
much  significance.  For  some  reason,  he  was 
standing  my  friend. 


I  FIND  AN  UNEXPECTED  FRIEND     189 

''  Of  course,"  said    I,  "  where  to  look    for   the 

plan." 

So  it  was  a  plan  they  needed,  a  plan  of  the  spot 
where  Adam  Mayle  had  buried  the  cross.  Where 
could  that  plan  be,  in  what  unHkely  place  would 
Adam  have  hid  it  ? 

I  ran  over  my  mind  the  rooms,  and  the  furni- 
ture of  the  house.  There  was  no  bureau,  no  sec- 
retaire. But  I  had  to  make  up  my  mind.  This 
last  slip  had  awakened  my  captor's  suspicions. 
The  faces  about  me  menaced  me. 
''  Well,  where  is  the  plan  ?  " 
I  thought  over  all  that  Glen  had  said  to-night 
— was  a  clue  to  be  got  there  ? 

"  I  haven't  it,"  said  I,  to  gain  time. 
''  But  where  are  we  to  look  for  it  ?  "  again  asked 
Roper,  and  he  put  his  hand  in  his  coat-pocket. 

''  Speak  up,"  said  Tortue,  and  I  read  his  mean- 
ing in  the  glance  of  his  eyes.  He  meant—''  Name 
some  spot,  any  spot ! "  But  I  knew  !  It  had 
come  upon  me  like  an  inspiration,  I  had  no 
shadow  of  doubt  where  that  plan  was.     I  said  : 

*'  Where  are  you  to  look  for  the  plan  ?  Glen 
has  told  you.  Adam  Mayle  would  rather  have 
had  the  cross  buried  with  him  than  that  Cullen 
should  have  it.     He  couldn't  have  the  treasure 


I90  THE  WATCHERS 

buried  with  him,  but  he  could  and  did  the  plan. 
Look  in  Adam  Mayle's  grave.  You  will  find  a 
stick  with  a  brass  handle  to  it — a  sword  stick,  but 
the  sword's  broken  off  short.  In  the  hollow  of 
that  stick  you'll  find  the  plan."  Tortue  nodded 
at  me  with  approval.  The  rest  jumped  up  from 
the  ground. 

"  We  have  time  to-night,"  said  Roper,  and 
stretching  out  a  hand  he  pulled  my  watch  from 
my  fob.  "  It  is  eleven  o'clock,"  and  he  put  the 
watch  in  his  own  pocket.  *'  Where's  Adam  Mayle 
buried  ?  "  asked  another. 

"  In  the  Abbey  Grounds,"  said  I. 

"  But  we  want  spades,"  objected  Tortue,  "  we 
want  a  pick." 

"  They  are  here,"  said  Glen,  with  an  evil  smile, 
"we  had  them  ready,"  and  he  grinned  at  me. 
"  Mr.  Berkeley  comes  with  us,  I  think,"  said  he 
smoothly,  "  untie  his  legs." 

''  Yes,"  said  Roper  with  an  oath.  He  was  in 
a  heat  of  excitement.  "  And  if  he  has  told  us 
wrong,  good  God,  we'll  bury  him  with  Adam 
Mayle." 

But  I  had  no  doubt  that  I  was  right.  I  re- 
membered what  Clutterbuck  had  told  me  of  Adam's 
vindictiveness.     He  would  hide   that  plan  if  he 


1  FIND  AN  UNEXPECTED  FRIEND     191 

could,  and  he  could  have  chosen  no  surer  place. 
No  doubt  he  would  have  destroyed  that  plan 
when  he  knew  that  he  was  dying,  but  he  was 
struck  down  with  paralysis,  and  could  not  stir  a 
finger.  He  could  only  order  the  stick  to  be  buried 
with  him. 

They  unfastened  my  legs.  Roper  blew  out  the 
lantern,  and  we  went  out  of  the  shed,  on  to  the 
hillside.  Glen  despatched  Blads  upon  some  er- 
rand, and  the  man  hurried  up  the  hill  towards 
New  Grimsby.  Glen  leisurely  walked  along  the 
the  slope  of  the  hill.  I  followed  him,  and  the 
rest  behind  me.  The  moon  had  gone  down,  and 
the  night,  though  clear  enough,  was  dark.  We 
walked  on  for  about  five  minutes,  until  some  one 
treading  close  upon  my  heels  suddenly  tripped  me 
up.  My  hands  were  still  tied  behind  my  back,  so 
that  I  could  not  save  myself  from  a  fall.  But 
Tortue  picked  me  up,  and  as  he  did  so  whispered 
in  my  ear : 

"  Is  the  plan  there  ?  " 

I  answered,  "  Yes." 

I  would  have  staked  my  life  upon  it ;  in  fact, 
I  was  staking  my  life  upon  it. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

IN  THE  ABBEY   GROUNDS 

We  kept  along  the  ridge  of  hill  towards  the 
east  of  the  island,  and  met  no  one,  nor,  indeed, 
were  we  Hkely  to  do.  I  could  look  down  on  either 
side  to  the  sea.  I  saw  the  cottages  on  the  shore 
of  New  Grimsby  harbour  on  the  one  side,  and  on 
the  other  the  house  at  Merchant's  Point,  and  the 
half-dozen  houses  scattered  on  the  grass  at  Old 
Grimsby,  that  went  by  the  name  of  Dolphin 
Town,  and  nowhere  was  there  a  twinkle  of  light. 

Tresco  was  in  bed. 

We  descended  a  little  to  our  left,  and  rounded 

the  shoulder  of  the  hill  at  the  eastern  end  of  the 

island,  through  a  desolate  moorland  of  gorse  ;  but 

once  we  had  rounded  the  shoulder,  we  were  in  an 

instant  amongst  trees  of  luxuriant    foliage,   and 

in  a  hollow  sheltered  from  the  winds.     The  Abbey 

ruins  stood  up  from  a  small  plateau  in  the  bosom 

of  the  trees,  its  broken  arches  and  columns  show- 
192 


IN  THE  ABBEY  GROUNDS  193 

ing  very  dismal  against  the  sky,  and  everywhere 
fragments  of  crumbling  wall  cropped  up  unex- 
pected through  the  grass. 

The  burial  ground  was  close  to  an  eel  pond, 
which  glimmered  below,  nearer  to  the  sea,  and  a 
path  overgrown  with  weeds  wound  downwards  to 
the  graves. 

I  could  not  tell  in  which  corner  Adam  Mayle 
was  buried,  so  Roper  was  sent  forward  with  the 
lantern  to  look  amongst  the  headstones.  For  half 
an  hour  he  searched  ;  the  flame  of  the  candle 
danced  from  grave  to  grave  as  though  it  were  the 
restless  soul  of  some  sinner  buried  there.  The 
men  who  remained  with  me  grew  impatient,  for 
opposite  to  us,  across  the  road,  lay  St.  Mary's 
and  the  harbour  of  Hugh  Town  ;  and  on  this 
clear  night  the  speck  of  light  in  the  Abbey  grounds 
would  be  visible  at  a  great  distance.  I  was  begin- 
ning to  wonder  whether  Adam  had  a  headstone 
at  all  to  mark  his  resting-place,  when  a  cry  came 
upwards  to  our  ears  and  the  lantern  was  swung 
aloft  in  the  air. 

One  loud,  unanimous  shout  answered  that   cry. 

"  Come,"  shouted  Glen,  and  seizing  hold  of  the 

end  of  the  rope  where  it  went  round  my  chest,  he 

began  to  run  down  the  path.     The  others  jostled 
13 


194  THE  WATCHERS 

and  tumbled  after  him  in  an  extreme  excitement. 
All  discretion  was  tossed  to  the  winds.  They 
laughed,  shouted,  and  leaped  while  they  ran  as 
though  they  already  had  the  cross  in  their  keeping. 
What  with  Glen  tugging  at  the  end  in  front  and 
the  others  pushing  and  thrusting  at  me  from 
behind,  it  was  more  than  I  could  do  to  keep  my 
feet.  Twice  I  fell  forward  on  my  knees  and 
brought  them  to  a  stop.  Glen  turned  upon  me 
in  a  fury. 

"  Loose  his  hands  then,  George,"  said  Tortue. 

"  No,"  returned  George,  with  an  oath,  and  he 
plucked  on  the  rope  until  somehow  I  stumbled  on 
to  my  feet,  and  we  all  set  to  running  again. 

Things  were  taking  on  an  ugly  look  for  me. 
Those  men  were  growing  ten  times  more  savage 
since  the  grave  had  been  discovered ;  they  were 
in  a  heat  of  excitement.  In  their  movements,  in 
their  faces,  in  their  words,  a  violent  ferocity  was 
evident.  They  had  made  their  bargain  with  me, 
but  would  they  keep  it  once  they  had  the  plan  in 
their  hands  ?  I  had  no  doubt  their  arrangements 
were  made  for  an  instant  departure  from  the 
islands.  One  could  not  be  a  day  upon  Tresco 
without  hearing  some  hint  of  the  luggers  which 
did  a  great  smuggling  trade  between  Scilly  and 


IN  THE  ABBEY  GROUNDS  195 

the  port  of  Roscoff  in  Brittany.  No  doubt  Glen 
and  Tortue  had  made  their  account  with  one  of 
these  to  carry  them  into  France.  I  was  the  more 
sure  of  this  when  Blads  returned.  I  could  not 
but  think  he  had  been  sent  so  that  a  boat  might 
be  ready,  and  it  seemed  unlikely  they  would  leave 
me  alive  behind  them  when  the  mere  scruple  of  a 
bargain  only  held  their  hands. 

We  were  now  come  to  the  grave.  It  had  a 
headstone  but  no  slab  to  cover  it ;  only  a  boulder 
from  the  seashore  by  which  Adam  had  lived  was 
with  a  pretty  fancy  imposed  upon  the  mound. 

Roper  hung  the  lantern  on  to  a  knob  of  the 
headstone ;  and  already  Glen  had  snatched  the 
pick  and  thrust  it  under  the  boulder.  It  needed 
but  one  heave  upon  the  pick,  and  the  boulder 
tottered  and  rolled  from  the  grave  with  a  crash. 
It  stopped  quite  close  to  my  feet.  I  looked  at  it, 
then  I  looked  at  the  grave,  and  from  the  grave  to 
the  sailors.  But  they  had  noticed  nothing ;  they 
were  already  digging  furiously  at  the  grave.  In 
their  excitement  they  had  noticed  nothing ;  even 
Tortue  was  kneeling  in  the  lantern-light  watching 
the  gleam  of  the  spades,  sensible  of  nothing  but 
that  each  shovelful  cast  up  on  the  side  brought 
them  by  a  shovelful  nearer  to  their  prize.     And 


196  THE  WATCHERS  \ 

they  dug  with  such  furious  speed,  taking  each  his 
turn,  each  anticipating  his  turn  !  For  before  one 
man  had  stepped,  dripping  with  sweat  from  the 
trench,  another  had  leaped  in,  and  the  spade  fell 
from  one  man's  grasp  into  the  palm  of  another. 
Once  a  spade  jarred  upon  a  piece  of  rock,  and  the 
man  who  drove  it  into  the  earth  cursed.  I  had 
a  sudden  flutter  of  hope  that  the  spade  was 
broken,  and  that  by  so  much  the  issue  would  be 
delayed,  but  the  digger  resumed  his  work.  I 
looked  over  to  St.  Mary's,  but  the  town  was  quiet ; 
one  light  gleamed,  it  was  only  the  light  at  the 
head  of  the  jetty.  And  even  in  Tresco  such  in- 
finitesimal chance  of  interruption  as  there  had 
ever  been  had  disappeared.  For  the  men  had 
ceased  even  from  their  oaths.  There  was  not 
even  a  whisper  to  be  shared  amongst  them  ;  there 
was  no  sound  but  the  laboured  sound  of  their 
breathing.     They  worked  in  silence. 

I  had  no  longer  any  hope.  I  saw  now  and 
again  Roper,  as  he  slapped  down  a  spadeful  of 
earth  beside  me,  look  with  a  grim  significant  smile 
at  me,  and  perhaps  his  fellow  would  catch  the 
look  and  imitate  it.  I  noticed  that  George  Glen, 
as  he  took  down  the  lantern  from  time  to  time 
and  held  it  over  the  trench,  would  flash  it  towards 


IN  THE  ABBEY  GROUNDS  197 

me ;  and  he,  too,  would  smile  and  perhaps  wink 
at  Roper  in  the  trench.  The  winks  and  smiles 
were  easy  as  print  to  read.  They  were  agreeing 
between  themselves :  the  unspoken  word  was 
going  round ;  they  did  not  mean  to  keep  their 
part  of  the  bargain,  and  when  they  left  the  Abbey 
grounds  the  mound  upon  Adam's  grave  would  be 
a  foot  higher  than  when  they  entered  them. 

But  this  unspoken  understanding  had  no  longer 
any  power  to  frighten  me.  I  tried  to  catch  Peter 
Tortue's  attention ;  I  shuffled  a  foot  upon  the 
ground  ;  but  he  paid  no  heed.  He  was  on  all 
fours  by  the  grave-side  peering  into  the  trench, 
and  I  dared  not  call  to  him.  I  wanted  to  contra- 
dict what  I  had  said  outside  the  shed  upon  the 
hillside.     I  wanted  to  whisper  to  him  : 

**  The  plan  you  search  for  is  not  there." 

If  they  were  meaning  to  break  their  part  of  the 
bargain  it  mattered  very  little,  for  I  was  unable  to 
keep  mine. 

I  had  suspected  that  from  the  moment  the 
boulder  was  uprooted  ;  I  knew  it  a  moment  after 
the  lantern  was  hung  upon  the  headstone.  The 
stone  had  rested  on  that  grave  for  two  years,  yet 
at  the  fresh  pressure  of  the  pick  it  had  given  and 
swayed  and  rolled   from    its    green   pedestal.     It 


198  THE  WATCHERS 

had  tumbled  at  my  feet,  and  there  was  not  even  a 
clot  of  earth  or  a  pebble  clinging  to  it.  More- 
over, on  the  grave  itself  there  was  grass  where  it 
had  rested.  For  all  its  weight,  it  had  not  settled 
into  the  ground  or  so  much  as  worn  the  herbage. 
Yet  it  had  rested  there  two  years  ! 

The  lantern  was  hung  upon  the  headstone,  and 
its  light  showed  to  me  that  close  to  the  ground 
the  headstone  had  been  chipped.  It  was  as 
though  some  one  had  swung  a  pick  and  by  mis- 
take had  struck  the  edge  of  the  headstone.  More- 
over, whoever  had  swung  the  pick  had  swung  it 
recently.  For  whereas  the  face  of  the  granite  was 
dull  and  weatherbeaten,  this  chipped  edge  sparkled 
like  quartz. 

The  aspect  of  the  grave  itself  confirmed  me. 
Some  pains  had  been  taken  to  replace  the  sods  of 
grass  upon  the  top,  but  all  about  the  mound, 
wherever  the  lantern-light  fell,  I  could  see  lumps 
of  fresh  clay. 

The  grave  had  been  opened,  and  recently — I 
did  not  stop  then  to  consider  by  whom — and 
secretly.  It  could  have  been  opened  but  for  the 
one  reason.  There  would  be  no  plan  there  for 
Glen  to  find. 

Roper  uttered  an  exclamation  and  stopped  dig- 


IN  THE  ABBEY  GROUNDS  199 

ging.  His  spade  had  struck  something  hard. 
Glen  lowered  the  lantern  into  the  trench,  and  the 
light  struck  up  on  to  his  face  and  the  face  of  the 
diggers. 

I  hazarded  a  whisper  to  Tortue,  and  certainly 
no  one  else  heard  it,  but  neither  did  Tortue. 
Roper  struck  his  spade  in  with  renewed  vigour, 
and  a  stifled  cry  which  burst  at  the  same  moment 
from  the  five  mouths  told  me  the  coffin-lid  was 
disclosed.     I  whispered  again  the  louder  : 

'*  Tortue  !  Tortue  !  *'  and  with  no  better  result. 

The  pick  was  handed  down  at  Roper's  call.  I 
spoke  now,  and  at  last  he  heard.  He  turned  his 
head  across  his  shoulder  towards  me,  but  he  only 
motioned  me  to  silence.  The  pick  rang  upon 
wood,  and  now  I  called : 

*•  Tortue  !     Tortue  !  " 

Still  no  one  but  Tortue  heard.  This  time,  how- 
ever, he  rose  from  his  knees  and  came  to  me. 
Glen  looked  up  for  an  instant. 

**  See  that  he  is  fast !  "  he  said,  and  so  looked 
back  into  the  grave. 

"  What  is  it  ?  "  asked  Tortue. 

'*  The  plan  has  gone.     Loose  my  hands  !  ** 

I  could  no  longer  see  Roper ;  he  had  stooped 
down  below  the  lip  of  the  trench. 


200  THE  WATCHERS 

"  Gone  !  "  said  Tortue.     "  How  ?  " 

"  Some  one  has  been  here  before  you,  but 
v/ithin  this  last  week,  I'll  swear.  Loose  my 
hands." 

"  Some  one  !  "  he  exclaimed  savagely.  "  Who  ? 
who  ?  "  and  he  shook  me  by  the  arms. 

"  I  do  not  know." 

"  Swear  it." 

"  I  do.     Loose  my  hands." 

"  Remember  it  is  I  who  save  you." 

His  knife  was  already  out  of  his  pocket ;  he 
had  already  muffled  it  in  his  coat  and  opened  it ; 
he  was  making  a  pretence  to  see  whether  the  end 
was  still  fast.  I  could  feel  the  cold  blade  between 
the  rope  and  my  wrist,  when,  with  a  shout.  Roper 
stood  erect,  the  stick  in  one  hand,  a  sheet  of  paper 
flourishing  in  the  other. 

He  drew  himself  out  of  the  trench  and  spread 
the  paper  out  on  a  pile  of  clay  at  the  graveside. 
Glen  held  his  lantern  close  to  it.  There  were 
four  streaming  faces  bent  over  that  paper.  I  felt 
a  tug  at  my  wrists  and  the  cord  slacken  as  the 
knife  cut  through  it. 

"  Take  the  rope  with  you,"  whispered  Tortue. 

The  next  moment  there  were  five  faces  bent 
over  that  paper. 


IN  THE  ABBEY  GROUNDS         201 

"On  St.  Helen's  Island,"  cried  Glen. 

"Let  me  see!  "  exclaimed  Tortue,  leaning  over 
his  shoulder.  ^'  Three — what's  that? — chains. 
Three  chains  east  by  the  compass  of  the  east  win- 
dow in  the  south  aisle  of  the  church." 

And  that  was  the  last  I  heard.  I  stepped 
softly  back  into  the  darkness  for  a  few  paces,  and 
then  I  ran  at  the  top  of  my  speed  westwards  to- 
wards New  Grimsby,  freeing  my  arms  from  the 
rope  as  I  ran.  Once  I  turned  to  look  back.  They 
were  still  gathered  about  that  plan  ;  their  faces, 
now  grown  small,  were  clustered  under  the  light 
of  the  lantern,  and  Tortue,  with  his  flashing  knife- 
blade,  was  pointing  out  upon  the  paper  the  posi- 
tion of  the  treasure.  Ten  minutes  later  I  was  well 
up  the  top  of  the  hill.  I  saw  a  lugger  steal  round 
the  point  from  New  Grimsby  and  creep  up  in 
the  shadow  towards  the  Abbey  grounds. 

I  spent  that  night  in  the  gorse  high  up  on  the 
Castle  Down.  I  had  no  mind  to  be  caught  in  a 
trap  at  the  Palace  Inn.  * 

From  the  top  of  the  down,  about  an  hour  later, 
I  saw  the  lugger  come  round  the  Lizard  Point 
of  Tresco  and  beat  across  to  St.  Helen's.  As  the 
day  broke  she  pushed  out  from  St.  Helen's,  and 
reaching  past  the  Golden  Ball  into  the  open  sea, 


202  THE  WATCHERS 

put  her  tiller  up  and  ran  by  the  islands  to  the 
south. 

There  was  no  longer  any  need  for  me  to  hide 
among  the  gorse.  I  went  down  to  the  Palace 
Inn.  No  one  was  as  yet  astir,  and  the  door,  of 
course,  was  unlocked.  I  crept  quietly  up  to  my 
room  and  went  to  bed. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

IN  WHICH  PETER  TORTUE    EXPLAINS    HIS  INTER- 
VENTION ON  MY  BEHALF 

As  will  be  readily  understood,  when  I  woke  up 
the  next  morning  I  was  sensible  at  once  of  a 
great  relief.  My  anxieties  and  misadventures  of 
last  night  were  well  paid  for  after  all.  I  could 
look  at  my  swollen  wrists  and  say  that  without 
any  hesitation,  the  watchers  had  departed  from 
their  watching,  and  what  if  they  had  carried  away 
the  King  of  Portugal's  great  jewelled  cross  ?  Helen 
Mayle  had  no  need  of  it,  indeed,  her  great  regret 
now  was  that  she  could  not  get  rid  of  what  she 
had  ;  and  as  for  Cullen,  to  tell  the  truth,  I  did  not 
care  a  snap  of  the  fingers  whether  he  found  a  for- 
tune or  must  set  to  work  to  make  one.  Other 
men  had  been  compelled  to  do  it — better  men  too, 
deuce  take  him  !  We  were  well  quit  of  George 
Glen  and  his  gang,  though  the  price  of  the 
quittance  was  heavy.     I   would  get  up  at   once, 

run  across   to  Merchant's  Point,  and  tell  Helen 

203 


204  THE  WATCHERS 

Mayle My  plans   came  to    a    sudden  stop. 

Tell  Helen  Mayle  precisely  what  ?  That  Adam 
Mayle's  grave  had  been  rifled  ? 

I  lay  staring  up  at  the  ceiling  as  I  debated  that 
question,  and  suddenly  it  slipped  from  my  mind. 
That  grave  had  been  rifled  before,  and  quite 
recently.  I  was  as  certain  of  that  in  the  sober 
light  of  the  morning  as  I  had  been  during  the 
excitement  of  last  night.  Why?  It  was  not  for 
the  chart  of  the  treasure,  since  the  chart  had  been 
left.  And  by  whom  ?  So  after  all,  here  was  I, 
who  had  waked  up  in  the  best  of  spirits  too,  with 
the  world  grown  comfortable,  confronted  with 
questions  as  perplexing  as  a  man  could  wish  for. 
It  was,  as  Cullen  Mayle  had  said,  at  the  inn  near 
Axminster,  most  discouraging.  And  I  turned 
over  in  bed  and  tried  to  go  to  sleep,  that  I  might 
drive  them  from  my  mind.  I  should  have  suc- 
ceeded too,  but  just  as  I  was  in  a  doze  there  came 
a  loud  rapping  at  the  door,  and  Dick  Parmiter 
danced  into  the  room. 

*'  They  are  gone,  Mr.  Berkeley,"  he  cried. 

"  I  know,"  I  grumbled  ;  *'  I  saw  them  go,"  and 
stretched  out  my  arms  and  yav/ned. 

"  Why,  you  have  hurt  your  wrist,"  Dick  ex- 
claimed. 


PETER  TORTUE  205 

"  No,"  said  I,  "  it  was  George  Glen's  shake  of 
the  hand." 

"  They  are  gone,"  repeated  Dick,  gleefully,  "  all 
of  them  except  Peter  Tortue." 

'' What's  that?  "  I  cried,  sitting  up  in  the  bed. 

"  All  of  them  except  Peter  Tortue." 

"To  be  sure,"  said  I,  scratching  my  head. 

Now  what  in  the  world  had  Peter  Tortue  re- 
mained behind  for?  For  no  harm,  that  was  evi- 
dent, since  I  owed  my  life  to  his  good  offices  last 
night.  I  was  to  remember  that  it  was  he  who 
saved  me.  I  was,  then,  to  make  some  return. 
But  what  return  ?  " 

I  threw  my  pillow  at  Parmiter's  head. 

"  Deuce  take  you,  Dicky !  My  bed  was  not 
such  a  plaguey  restful  place  before  that  it  needed 
you  to  rumple  it  further.  Well,  since  I  m.ayn't 
sleep  late  i'  the  morning  Hke  a  gentleman,  I'll  get 

up. 

I  tried  to  put  together  some  sort  of  plausible 
explanation  which  would  serve  for  Helen  Mayle 
while  I  was  dressing.  But  I  could  not  hit  upon 
one,  and  besides  Parmiter  made  such  a  to-do  over 
brushing  my  clothes  this  morning  that  that  alone 
was  enough  to  drive  all  reasoning  out  of  one's  head. 

"  Dick,"  said  I  as  he  handed  me  my  coat,  "  you 


2o6  THE  WATCHERS 

have  had,  if  my  memory  serves  me,  some  experi- 
ence of  womenfolk." 

Dick  nodded  his  head  in  a  mournful  fashion. 

"  Mother  !  "  said  he. 

"  Precisely,"  said  I.  "  Now,  here's  a  delicate 
question.  Do  you  always  tell  womenfolk  the 
truth  ?  " 

'*  No,"  said  he,  stoutly. 

"  Do  you  tell  them — shall  we  say  quibbles, — 
then?" 

''  Quibbles?  "  said  Dick,  opening  his  mouth. 

"  It  is  not  a  fruit,  Dicky,"  said  I,  '*  so  you  need 
not  keep  it  open.  By  quibbles  I  mean  lies.  Do 
you  tell  your  womenfolk  lies,  when  the  truth  is 
not  good  for  them  to  know?" 

"  No,"  said  Dick,  as  steadily  as  before,  "  for 
they  finds  you  out." 

"  Precisely,"  I  agreed.  "  But  since  you  neither 
tell  the  truth  nor  tell  lies,  what  in  the  world  do 
you  do  ?  " 

*'  Well,"  answered  Dick,  "  I  say  that  it's  a  secret 
which  mother  isn't  to  know  for  a  couple  of  days." 

*'I  see.     And   when   the   couple  of   days   has 

gone  ? 

"Then   mother  has   forgotten    all   about   the 

secret." 


PETER  TORTUE  207 

I  reflected  for  a  moment  or  two. 

"  Dick." 

"Yes." 

"  Did  you  ever  try  that  plan  with  Miss  Helen  ?  " 

"  No,"  said  he,  shaking  his  head. 

*'  I  will,"  said  I,  airily,  "  or  something  like  it." 

*'  Something  like  it  would  be  best,"  said  Dick. 

The  story  which  I  told  to  Helen  was  not  after 
all  very  like  it.     I  said  : 

"  The  watchers  have  gone  and  gone  for  ever. 
They  were  here  not  for  any  revenge,  but  for  their 
profit.  There  was  a  treasure  in  St.  Helen's  which 
Cullen  Mayle  was  to  show  them  the  way  to — if 
they  could  catch  him  and  force  him.  They 
had  some  claim  to  it — I  showed  them  the 
way." 

"  You  ?  "  she  exclaimed.     "  How  ?  " 

"  That  I  cannot  tell  you,"  said  I.  ''  I  would 
beg  you  not  to  ask,  but  to  let  my  silence  content 
you.  I  could  not  tell  you  the  truth  and  I  do  not 
think  that  I  could  invent  a  story  to  suit  the 
occasion  which  would  not  ring  false.  The  conse- 
quence is  the  one  thing  which  concerns  us,  and 
there  is  no  doubt  of  it.  The  watchers  did  not 
watch  for  an  opportunity  of  revenge  and  they  are 
gone." 


2o8  THE  WATCHERS 

*'  Very  well,"  she  said.  '*  I  was  right  after  all, 
you  see.  The  hand  stretched  out  of  the  dark  has 
done  this  service.  For  it  is  your  doing  that  they 
are  gone?  " 

I  did  not  answer  and  she  laughed  a  little  and 
continued,  '*  But  I  will  not  ask  you.  I  will  make 
shift  to  be  content  with  your  silence.  Did  Dick 
Parmiter  come  with  you  this  morning  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  I  answered  with  a  laugh,  "  but  he  was 
not  with  me  last  night." 

Helen  laughed  again. 

"  Ah,"  she  cried  !  "  So  it  was  your  doing,  and 
I  have  not  asked  you."  Then  she  grew  serious  of 
a  sudden.  ''  But  since  they  are  gone  " — she  ex- 
claimed, in  a  minute,  her  whole  face  alight  with 
her  thought — "  since  they  are  gone,  CuUen  may 
come  and  come  in  safety." 

"  Oh  !  yes,  Cullen  may  come,"  I  answered,  per- 
haps a  trifle  roughly.  "  Cullen  will  be  safe  and 
may  come.  Indeed,  I  wonder  that  he  was  not 
here  before  this.  He  stole  my  horse  upon  the 
road  and  yet  could  not  reach  here  first.  I  trudged 
a-foot,  Cullen  bestrode  my  horse  and  yet  Tresco 
still  pines  for  him.  It  is  very  strange  unless  he  has 
a  keen  nose  for  danger." 

My  behaviour  very  likely  was  not  the  politest 


PETER  TORTUE  209 

imaginable,  but  then  Helen's  was  no  better.  For 
although  she  displayed  no  anger  at  my  rough 
words — I  should  not  have  cared  a  scrape  of  her 
wheezy  fiddle  if  she  had,  but  she  did  not,  she 
merely  laughed  in  my  face  with  every  appearance 
of  enjoyment.  I  drew  myself  up  very  stiff.  Here 
were  all  the  limits  of  courtesy  clearly  over-stepped, 
but  I  at  all  events  would  not  follow  her  example, 
nor  allow  her  one  glimpse  of  any  exasperation 
which  I  might  properly  feel. 

"  Shall  I  go  out  and  search  for  him  in  the  high- 
ways and  hedges?  "  I  asked  with  severity. 

'*  It  would  be  magnanimous,"  said  she  biting 
her  lip,  and  then  her  manner  changed.  "  He  rode 
your  horse,"  she  cried,  "  and  yet  he  has  fallen  be- 
hind. He  will  be  hurt  then  !  Some  accident  has 
befallen  him  !  " 

"  Or  he  has  wagered  my  horse  at  some  roadside 
inn  and  lost !     It  was  a  good  horse,  too." 

She  caught  hold  of  my  arm  in  some  agitation. 

"  Oh  !  be  serious !  "  she  prayed. 

"  Serious  quotha  !  "  said  I,  drawing  away  from 

her  hand  with   much  dignity.     "  Let  me  assure 

you,   madam,  that  the   loss  of  a  horse  is  a  very 

serious  affair,  that  the  stealing  of  a  horse  is  a  very 

serious  affair " 

14 


210  THE  WATCHERS 

*'  Well,  well,  I  will  buy  it  from  you,  saddle  and 
stirrup  and  all,"  she  interrupted. 

"  Madam,"  said  I,  when  I  could  get  my  speech. 
"  There  is  no  more  to  be  said." 

'*  Heaven  be  praised  !  "  said  she.  "  And  now 
it  may  be,  you  will  condescend  to  listen  to  me. 
What  am  I  to  do  ?  Suppose  that  he  is  hurt ! 
Suppose  that  he  is  in  trouble  !  Suppose  that  he 
still  waits  for  my  answer  to  his  message  !  Suppose 
in  a  word  that  he  does  not  come  !  What  can  I 
do  ?     He  may  go  hungering  for  a  meal." 

I  did  not  think  the  contingency  probable,  but 
Helen  was  now  speaking  with  so  much  sincerity 
of  distress  that  I  could  not  say  as  much. 

"  Unless  he  comes  to  Tresco  I  am  powerless. 
It  is  true  I  have  bequeathed  everything  to  him, 
but  then  I  am  young,"  she  said,  with  a  most 
melancholy  look  in  her  big  dark  eyes.  ''  Neither 
am  I  sickly." 

''  I  will  go  back  along  the  road  and  search  for 
him,"  and  this  I  spoke  with  sincerity.  She  looked 
at  me  curiously. 

"  Will  you  do  that  ?  "  she  asked  in  a  doubtful 
voice,  as  though  she  did  not  know  whether  to  be 
pleased  or  sorry. 

**  Yes,"  said  I,  and  a  servant  knocked  at  the 


PETER  TORTUE  211 

door,  and  told  me  Parmiter  wished  to  speak  with 
me.  I  found  the  lad  on  the  steps  of  the  porch, 
and  we  walked  down  to  the  beach. 

*'What  is  it?"   I  asked. 

''  The  Frenchman,"  said  he,  with  a  frightened 
air. 

^'  Peter  Tortue  ?  " 

"  Yes." 

I  led  him  further  along  the  beach  lest  any  of 
the  windows  of  the  house  should  be  open  towards 
us,  and  any  one  by  the  open  window. 

''  Where  is  he  ?  " 

Dick  pointed  up  the  hill. 

*'At  the  shed?"  I  asked. 

"  Yes.  He  was  lying  in  wait  on  the  hillside, 
and  ran  down  when  he  saw  that  I  was  alone.  He 
stays  in  the  shed  for  you,  and  you  are  to  go  to 
him  alone." 

"  Amongst  the  dead  sailor-men  ?  "  said  I,  with  a 
laugh.  But  the  words  were  little  short  of  blas- 
phemy to  Dick  Parmiter.  "  Well,  I  was  there 
last  night,  and  no  harm  came  to  me." 

"  You  were  there  last  night  ? "  cried  Dick. 
"  Then  you  will  not  go  ?  " 

"  But  I  will,"  said  I.  ''  I  am  curious  to  hear 
what  Tortue  has  to  say  to  me.     You  may  take  my 


212  THE  WATCHERS 

word  for  it,  Dick,  there's  no  harm  in  Peter  Tortue. 
I  shall  be  back  within  the  hour.  Hush  !  not  a 
word  of  this  I  "  for  I  saw  Helen  Mayle  coming 
from  the  house  towards  us.  I  told  her  that  I  was 
called  away,  and  would  return. 

"  Do  you  take  Dick  with  you  ? "  she  asked, 
with  too  much  indifference.  She  held  a  big  hat 
of  straw  by  the  ribbons  and  swung  it  to  and 
fro.  She  did  that  also  with  too  much  indiffer- 
ence. 

"No,"  said  I,  "  I  leave  him  behind.  Make  of 
him  what  you  can.  He  cannot  tell  what  he  does 
not  know." 

The  sum  of  Dick's  knowledge,  I  thought, 
amounted  to  no  more  than  this — that  I  had  last 
night  visited  the  shed,  in  spite  of  the  dead  sailor- 
men.  I  forgot  for  the  moment  that  he  was  in  my 
bedroom  when  I  rose  that  morning. 

The  door  of  the  shed  was  fastened  on  the 
inside ;  I  rapped  with  my  knuckles,  and  Tortue's 
voice  asked  who  was  there.  When  I  told  him,  he 
unbarred  the  door. 

"  There  is  no  one  behind  you  ?  "  said  he,  peering 
over  my  shoulder. 

"  Nay  !  Do  you  fear  that  I  have  brought  the 
constables  to  take  you  ?     You  may  live  in  Tresco 


PETER  TORTUE  213 

till  you  die  if  you  will.  What !  Should  I  betray 
you,  whose  life  you  saved  only  last  night  ?  " 

Peter  opened  the  door  wide. 

''  A  night !  "  said  he,  with  a  shrug  of  the 
shoulders.  "  One  can  forget  more  than  that  in  a 
night,  if  one  is  so  minded." 

I  followed  him  into  the  shed.  Here  and  there, 
through  the  chinks  in  the  boards,  a  gleam  of  light 
slipped  through.  Outside  it  was  noonday,  within 
it  was  a  sombre  evening.  I  passed  through  the 
door  of  the  partition  into  the  inner  room.  The 
rafters  above  were  lost  in  darkness,  and  before  my 
eyes  were  accustomed  to  the  gloom  I  stumbled 
over  a  slab  of  stone  which  had  been  lifted  from 
its  place  in  the  floor.  I  turned  to  Tortue,  who  was 
just  behind  me,  and  he  nodded  in  answer  to  my 
unspoken  question.  The  spade  and  the  pick  had 
stood  in  that  corner  to  the  left,  and  this  slab  of 
stone  had  been  removed  in  readiness.  The  dark- 
ness of  the  shed  struck  cold  upon  me  all  at  once, 
as  I  thought  of  why  that  slab  had  been  removed. 
I  looked  about  me  much  as  a  man  may  look  about 
his  bedroom  the  day  after  he  has  been  saved  from 
his  grave  by  the  surgeon's  knife.  Everything 
stands  as  it  did  yesterday — this  chair  in  this 
corner,  that  table  just  upon  that  pattern   of  the 


214  THE  WATCHERS 

carpet,  but  it  is  all  very  strange  and  unfamiliar. 
It  was  against  that  board  in  the  partition  that  I 
leaned  my  back  ;  there  sat  George  Glen  with  his 
evil  smile,  here  Tortue  polished  his  knife. 

"  Let  us  go  out  into  the  sunlight,  for  God's 
sake  ! "  said  I,  and  my  foot  struck  against  a  piece 
of  iron,  which  went  tinkling  across  the  stone  floor. 
I  picked  it  up.  "  They  are  gone,"  said  I,  with  a 
shiver,  *'  and  there's  an  end  of  them.  But  this 
shed  is  a  nightmarish  sort  of  place  for  me.  For 
God's  sake,  let  us  get  into  the  sun  !  " 

*'  Yes,  they  are  gone,"  said  Tortue,  "  but  they 
would  have  stayed  if  they  dared,  if  I  hadn't  set 
you  free,  for  they  went  without  the  cross." 

I  was  still  holding  that  piece  of  iron  in  my 
hand.  By  the  feel  of  it,  it  was  a  key,  and  I 
slipped  it  into  my  pocket  quite  unconsciously, 
for  Tortue's  words  took  me  aback  with  sur- 
prise. 

*'  Without  the  jewelled  cross?  But  you  had  the 
plan,"  said  I,  as  I  stepped  into  the  open.  "  I 
heard  you  describe  the  spot — three  chains  in  a  line 
east  of  the  east  window  in  the  south  aisle  of  the 
church." 

"  There  was  no  trace  of  the  cross." 

**  It  was  true  then  !  "    I    exclaimed.      '*  I  was 


PETER  TORTUE  215 

sure  of  it,  even  after  Roper  had  found  the  stick 
and  the  plan.  It  was  true — that  grave  had  been 
rifled  before." 

**  Why  should  the  plan  have  been  put  back, 
then  ?  " 

"  God  knows !     I  don't." 

**  Besides,  if  the  grave  had  been  rifled,  the  spot 
of  ground  on  St.  Helen's  Island  had  not.  There 
had  been  no  spade  at  work  there." 

"  Are  you  sure  of  that  ?  " 

"  Yes." 

"And  you  followed  out  the  directions?" 

"  To  the  letter.  Three  chains  east  by  the  com- 
pass of  the  eastern  window  in  the  south  aisle  of 
St.  Helen's  Church,  and  four  feet  deep  !  We  dug 
five  and  six  feet  deep.  There  was  nothing,  nor 
had  the  ground  been  disturbed." 

"  I  cannot  understand  it.  Why  should  Adam 
Mayle  have  been  at  such  pains  to  hide  the 
plan?  Was  it  a  grim  joke  to  be  played  on 
Cullen  ?  " 

There  was  no  means  of  answering  the  problem, 
and  I  set  it  aside. 

"  After  all,  they  are  gone,"  said  I.  "  That  is 
the  main  thing." 

"  All  except  me,"  said  Tortue. 


2i6  THE  WATCHERS 

"  Yes.     Why  have  you  stayed  ?  " 

Tortue  threw  himself  on  the  ground  and  chewed 
at  a  stalk  of  grass. 

''  I  saved  your  life  last  night,"  said  he. 

"  I  know.  Why  did  you  do  it  ?  Why  did  you 
cover  my  mistakes  in  that  shed  ?  Why  did  you 
cut  the  rope?  " 

**  Because  you  could  serve  my  turn.  The 
cross  !  "  he  exclaimed,  with  a  flourish.  "  I  do 
not  want  the  cross."  He  looked  at  me  steadily 
for  an  instant  with  his  shrewd  eyes.  "  I  want  a 
man  to  nail  on  the  cross,  and  you  can  help  me  to 
him.     Where  is  Cullen  Mayle?" 

The  words  startled  me  all  the  more  because 
there  was  no  violence  in  the  voice  which  spoke 
them — only  a  cold,  deliberate  resolution.  I  was 
nevermore  thankful  for  the  gift  of  ignorance  than 
upon  this  occasion.  I  could  assure  him  quite 
honestly, 

"  I  do  not  know." 

*'  But  last  night  you  knew." 

"  I  spoke  of  many  things  last  night  of  which  I 
had  no  knowledge — the  cross,  the  plan " 

''  You  knew  where  the  plan  was.  Flesh  !  but 
you  knew  that !  " 

"  I  guessed." 


PETER  TORTUE  217 

"  Guess,  then,  where  Cullen   Mayle  is,  and  I'll 
be  content." 

'*  I  have  no  hint  to  prompt  a  guess." 
Tortue   gave    no  sign  of  anger  at  my  answer. 
He  sat  upon  the   grass,  and  looked  with  a  certain 
sadness  at  the  shed. 

*'  It  does  not,  after  all,  take  much  more  than  a 
night  to  forget,"  said  he. 

"  I  am  telling  you  the  truth,  Tortue,"  said  I, 
earnestly.  "  I  do  not  know.  I  never  met  Cullen 
Mayle  but  once,  and  that  was  at  a  roadside  inn. 
He  stole  my  horse  upon  that  occasion,  so  that  I 
have  no  reason  to  bear  him  any  goodwill." 

''  But    because    of    him    you    came    down    to 
Tresco  ?  "  said  Tortue  quickly. 
''No." 

Tortue  looked  at  me  doubtfully.  Then  he 
looked  at  the  house,  and 

"  Ah !  It  was  because  of  the  girl." 
"  No  !  No  !  "  I  answered  vehemently.  I  could 
not  explain  to  him  why  I  had  come,  and  fortu- 
nately he  did  not  ask  for  an  explanation.  He  just 
nodded  his  head,  and  stood  up  without  another 
word. 

"  I  do  not  forget,"   said  I  pointing  to  the  shed. 
"  And  if  you  should  be  in  any  need "     But  I 


2i8  THE  WATCHERS 

got  no  further  in  my  offer  of  help  ;  for  he  turned 
upon  me  suddenly,  and  anger  at  last  had  got  the 
upper  hand  with  him. 

''  Money,  is  it  not  ?  "  he  cried,  staring  down  at 
me  with  his  eyes  ablaze.  *'  Ay,  that's  the  way 
with  gentlefolk !  You  would  give  me  as  much  as 
a  guinea  no  doubt — a  whole  round  gold  guinea. 
Yes,  I  am  in  need,"  and  with  a  violent  movement 
he  clasped  his  hands  together.  "  Virgin  Mary, 
but  I  am  in  need  of  Cullen  Mayle,  and  you  offer 
me  a  guinea !  "  and  then  hunching  his  shoulders 
he  strode  off  over  the  hill. 

So  Helen  Mayle's  instinct  was  right.  Out  of 
the  five  men  there  was  one  who  waited  for  Cullen's 
coming  with  another  object  than  to  secure  the 
diamond  cross.  Would  he  continue  to  wait  ?  I 
could  not  doubt  that  he  would,  when  I  thought 
upon  his  last  vehement  burst  of  passion.  Tortue 
would  wait  upon  Tresco,  until,  if  Cullen  did  not 
come  himself,  some  word  of  Cullen's  whereabouts 
dropped  upon  his  ear.  It  was  still  urgent,  there- 
fore, that  Cullen  Mayle  should  be  warned,  and  if 
I  was  to  go  away  in  search  of  him,  Helen  must  be 
warned  too. 

I  walked  back  again  towards  Merchant's  Point 
with  this  ill  news  heavy  upon  my  mind,  and  as  I 


PETER  TORTUE  219 

came  over  the  lip  of  the  hollow,  I  saw  Helen 
waiting  by  the  gate  in  the  palisade.  She  saw  me 
at  the  same  moment,  and  came  up  towards  me  at 
a  run. 

"  Is  there  more  ill-news  ?  "  I  asked  myself. 
"  Or  has  CuUen  Mayle  returned  ? "  and  I  ran 
quickly  down  to  her. 

"  Has  he  come  ?  "  I  asked,  for  she  came  to  a 
stop  in  front  of  me  with  her  face  white  and  scared. 

"  Who  ?  "  said  she  absently,  as  she  looked  me 
over. 

"  CuUen  Mayle,"  I  answered. 

"  Oh,  Cullen,"  she  said,  and  it  struck  me  as 
curious  that  this  was  the  first  time  I  had  heard 
her  speak  his  name  with  indifference. 

"  Because  he  must  not  show  himself  here. 
There  is  a  reason  !     There  is  a  danger  still !  " 

"  A  danger,"  she  said,  in  a  loud  cry,  and  then 
"  Oh  !  I  shall  never  forgive  myself  !  " 

"  For  what  ?  " 

She  caught  hold  of  my  arm. 

"  See  ?  "  she  said.  "  Your  coat-sleeve  is  frayed. 
It  was  a  rope  did  that  last  night.  No  use  to  deny 
it.  Dick  told  me.  He  saw  that  a  rope  too  had 
seared  your  wrists.  Tell  me  !  What  happened 
last  night  ?     I  must  know  !  " 


220  THE  WATCHERS 

*'You  promised  not  to  ask,"  said  I,  moving 
away  from  her. 

"  Well,  I  break  my  promise,"  said  she.  "  But  I 
must  know,"  and  she  turned  and  kept  pace  with 
me,  down  the  hill,  through  the  house  into  the 
garden.  During  that  time  she  pleaded  for  an 
answer  in  an  extreme  agitation,  and  I  confess  that 
her  agitation  was  a  sweet  flattery  to  me.  I  was 
inclined  to  make  the  most  of  it,  for  I  could  not 
tell  how  she  would  regard  the  story  of  my  night's 
adventures.  It  was  I  after  all  who  caused  old 
Adam  Mayle's  bones  to  be  disturbed ;  and  I 
understood  that  it  was  really  on  that  account  that 
I  had  shrunk  from  telling  her.  She  had  a  right 
to  know,  no  doubt.  Besides  there  was  this  new 
predicament  of  Tortue's  stay.  I  determined  to 
make  a  clean  breast  of  the  matter.  She  listened 
very  quietly  without  an  exclamation  or  a  shudder; 
only  her  face  lost  even  the  little  colour  which  it 
had,  and  a  look  of  horror  widened  in  her  eyes.  I 
told  her  of  my  capture  on  the  hillside,  of  Tortue's 
intervention,  of  the  Cross  and  the  stick  in  the 
coffin.  I  drew  a  breath  and  described  that  scene 
in  the  Abbey  grounds,  and  how  I  escaped  ;  and 
still  she  said  no  word  and  gave  no  sign.  I  told 
her  of  their  futile  search  upon  St.  Helen's,  and 


PETER  TORTUE  221 

how  I  had  witnessed  their  departure  from  the  top 
of  the  Castle  Down.  Still  she  walked  by  my  side 
silent,  and  wrapped  in  horror.  I  faltered  through 
this  last  incident  of  Tortue's  stay  and  came  to  a 
lame  finish,  amongst  the  trees  at  the  end  of  the 
garden.  We  turned  and  walked  the  length  of  the 
garden  to  the  house. 

"  I  know,"  I  said.  ''  When  1  guessed  the  stick 
held  the  plan,  I  should  have  held  my  tongue.  But 
I  did  not  think  of  that.  It  was  not  easy  to  think 
at  all  just  at  that  time,  and  I  must  needs  be  quick. 
They  spoke  of  attacking  the  house,  and  I  dreaded 
that.  ...  I  should  not  have  been  able  to  give 
you  any  warning.  ...  I  should  not  have  been 
able  to  give  you  any  help  ....  for,  you  see,  the 
slab  of  stone  was  already  removed  in  the  shed." 

"  Oh,  don't !  "  she  cried  out,  and  pressed  her 
hands  to  her  temples.  ''  I  shall  never  forgive 
myself.  Think !  A  week  ago  you  and  I  were 
strangers.  It  cannot  be  right  that  you  should  go 
in  deadly  peril  because  of  me." 

*'  Madam,"  said  I,  greatly  relieved,  *'you  make 
too  much  of  a  thing  of  no  great  consequence.  I 
hope  to  wear  my  life  lightly." 

"  Always  ?  "  said  she  quickly,  as  she  stopped 
and  looked  at  me. 


222  THE  WATCHERS 

I  stopped,  too,  and  looked  at  her. 

"  I  think  so,'*  said  I,  but  without  the  same  con- 
fidence.    "  Always." 

She  had  a  disconcerting  habit  of  laughing  when 
there  was  no  occasion  whatever  for  laughter.  She 
fell  into  that  habit  now,  and  I  hastened  to  recall 
her  to  Tortue's  embarrassing  presence  on  the 
island. 

**  Of  course,"  said  I,  "  a  word  to  the  Governor 
at  Star  Castle  and  we  are  rid  of  him.  But  he 
stood  between  me  and  my  death,  and  he  trusts  to 
my  silence." 

"  We  must  keep  that  silence,"  she  answered. 

"  Yet  he  waits  for  Cullen  Mayle,  and — it  will 
not  be  well  if  those  two  men  meet." 

"  Why  does  he  wait  ?  Do  you  know  that, 
too?" 

I  did  not  know,  as  I  told  her,  though  I  had  my 
opinion,  of  which  I  did  not  tell  her. 

"  The  great  comfort  is  this.  Tortue  did  not 
make  one  upon  that  expedition  to  the  Sierra 
Leone  River,  but  his  son  did.  Tortue  only  fell 
in  with  George  Glen  and  his  gang  at  an  ale-house 
in  Wapping,  and  a/Ur — that  is  the  point — after 
Glen  had  lost  track  of  Cullen  Mayle.  Tortue, 
therefore,  has  never  seen  Cullen,  does  not  know 


PETER  TORTUE  223 

him.  We  have  an  advantage  there.  So  should 
he  come  to  Tresco,  while  I  go  back  along  the 
road  to  search  for  him,  you  must  make  your  profit 
of  that  advantage." 

She  stopped  again. 

"  You  will  go,  then  ?  " 

*'  Why,  yes." 

She  shook  her  head,  reflectively. 

^'  It  is  not  right,"  she  said. 

"  I  am  going  chiefly,"  said  I,  ''  because  I  wish 
to  recover  my  horse." 

She  always  laughed  when  I  mentioned  that 
horse,  and  her  laughter  always  made  me  angry. 

"  Do  you  doubt  I  have  a  horse  ?  "  I  asked.  "  Or 
rather  /lad  a  horse  ?  Because  Cullen  Mayle  stole 
it,  stole  it  deliberately  from  under  my  nose — a 
very  valuable  horse  which  I  prized  even  beyond 
its  value — and  he  stole  it." 

The  girl  was  in  no  v/ay  impressed  by  my  wrath, 
and  she  said,  pleasantly  : 

''  I  am  glad  you  said  that.  I  am  glad  to  know 
that  with  it  all,  you  are  mean  like  other 
men  " 

"  Madam,"  I  returned,  "  when  Cullen  Mayle 
stgle  my  horse,  and  rode  away  upon  it,  he  put 
out  his  tongue  at  me.     I  made  no  answer.     Nor 


224  THE  WATCHERS 

do  I  make  any  answer  to  the  remark  which  you 
have  this  moment  addressed  to  me." 

"  Oh,  sir!  "  said  she,  "here  are  fine  words,  and 
here's  a  curtsey  to  match  them  ;  "  and  spreading 
out  her  frock  with  each  hand,  she  sank  elaborately 
to  the  very  ground. 

We  walked  for  some  while  longer  in  the  garden, 
without  speech,  and  the  girl's  impertinence  gradun 
ally  slipped  out  of  my  mind.  The  sea  murmured 
lazily  upon  the  other  side  of  the  hedge,  and  I 
had  full  in  view  St.  Helen's  Island  and  the  ruined 
church  upon  its  summit.  The  south  aisle  of  the 
church  pointed  towards  the  house,  and  through 
the  tracery  of  a  rude  window  I  could  see  the  sky. 

"  I  wonder  who  in  the  world  can  have  visited 
the  Abbey  burial-ground  and  rifled  that  grave?" 

The  question  perplexed  me  more  and  more,  and 
I  wondered  whether  Helen  could  throw  light  upon 
it.  So  I  asked  her,  but  she  bent  her  brows  in  a 
frown,  and  in  a  little  she  answered : 

'*  No,  I  can  think  of  no  one." 

I  held  out  my  hand  to  her.  "This  is  good- 
bye," said  I. 

"You  go  to-day?  "  she  asked,  but  did  not  take 
my  hand. 

"  Yes,  if  I  can  find  a  ship  to  take  me.     I  go  to 


PETER  TORTUE  225 

St.  Helen's  first.  Can  I  borrow  your  boat ;  Dick 
will  bring  it  back.  I  want  to  see  that  east  window 
in  the  aisle." 

A  few  more  words  were  said,  and  I  promised 
to  return,  whether  I  found  Cullen  Mayle  or  not. 
And  I  did  return,  but  sooner  than  I  expected,  for 
I  returned  that  afternoon. 


CHAPTER  XV 

THE   LOST   KEY   IS   FOUND 

It  happened  in  this  way.  I  took  Dick  Parmi- 
ter  with  me  and  sailed  across  to  St.  Helen's.  We 
beached  the  boat  on  the  sand  near  to  the  well  and 
quarantine  hut,  and  climbed  up  eastwards  till  we 
came  to  the  hole  which  Glen's  party  had  dug. 
The  ground  sloped  away  from  the  church  in  this 
direction  ;  and  as  I  stood  on  the  edge  of  the  hole 
with  my  face  towards  the  side  of  the  aisle,  I  could 
just  see  over  the  grass  the  broken  cusp  of  the 
window.     It  was  exactly  opposite  to  me. 

It  occurred  to  me,  however,  that  Glen  had 
measured  the  distance  wrong.  So  I  sent  Dick  in 
the  boat  across  to  Tresco  to  borrow  a  measure, 
and  while  he  was  away  I  examined  the  ground 
there  around  ;  but  it  was  all  covered  with  grass 
and  bracken,  which  evidently  had  not  been  dis- 
turbed. Here  and  there  were  bushes  of  brambles, 
but,  as  I  was  at  pains  to  discover,  no  search  for 

the  cross  had  been  made  beneath  them. 
226 


THE  LOST  KEY  IS  FOUND       227 

In  the  midst  of  my  search  Dick  came  back  to 
me  with  a  tape  measure,  and  we  set  to  work  from 
the  window  of  the  church.  The  measure  was  for 
a  few  yards,  so  that  when  we  had  run  it  out  to  its 
full  length,  keeping  ever  in  the  straight  line,  it 
was  necessary  to  fix  some  sort  of  mark  in  the 
ground,  and  start  afresh  from  that  ;  and  for  a 
mark  I  used  a  big  iron  key  which  I  had  in  my 
pocket.  Three  chains  brought  us  exactly  to  the 
hole  which  had  been  dug,  and  holding  the  key  in 
my  hand,  I  said  : 

"  They  made  no  mistake.  It  is  plain  the  plan 
was  carelessly  drawn." 

And  Dick  said  to  me  :  "  That's  the  key  of  our 
cottage." 

I  handed  it  to  him  to  make  sure.  He  turned 
it  over  in  his  hand. 

''  Yes,"  said  he,  "  that's  the  key ; "  and  he 
added  reproachfully,  with  no  doubt  a  lively  recol- 
lection of  his  mother's  objurgations  :  "  So  you 
had  it  all  the  time." 

"  I  found  it  this  morning,  Dick,"  said  I. 

"Where?" 

"  In  the  shed  on  the  Castle  Down.  Now,  how 
the  deuce  did  it  get  there  ?  The  dead  sailormen 
had  no  use  for  keys." 


228  THE  WATCHERS 

"  It's  very  curious,"  said  Dick. 

"  Very  curious  and  freakish,"  said  I,  and  I  sat 
down  on  the  grass  to  think  the  matter  out. 

"  Let  me  see,  your  mother  missed  it  in  the 
morning  after  I  came  to  Tresco." 

''  That's  three  days  ago."  And  I  could  hardly 
believe  the  boy.  It  seemed  to  me  that  months 
had  passed.     But  he  was  right. 

*'  Yes,  three  days  ago.  Your  mother  missed  it 
in  the  morning.  It  is  likely,  then,  that  it  was 
taken  from  the  lock  of  the  door  the  night  before." 

"  That  would  be  the  night,"  said  Dick,  sus- 
piciously, ''when  you  tapped  on  my  window." 

"  The  night,  in  fact,  when  I  first  landed  on 
Tresco.     Wait  a  little." 

Dick  sat  still  upon  the  grass,  and  I  took  the 
key  from  his  hand  into  mine.  There  were  many 
questions  which  at  that  moment  perplexed  me — 
that  hideous  experience  in  Cullen  Mayle's  bed- 
room, the  rifling  of  Adam  Mayle's  grave,  the 
replacing  of  the  plan  in  it  and  the  disappearance 
of  the  cross,  and  I  was  in  that  state  of  mind 
when  everything  new  and  at  all  strange  presented 
itself  as  a  possible  clue  to  the  mystery.  It  seemed 
to  me  that  the  key  which  I  held  was  very  much 
more  than  a  mere  rusty  iron  key  of  a  door  that 


THE  LOST  KEY  IS  FOUND       229 

was  never  locked.  I  felt  that  it  was  the  key  to 
the  door  of  the  mystery  which  baffled  me,  and 
that  feeling  increased  in  me  into  a  solid  conviction 
as  I  held  it  in  my  hand.  I  seemed  to  seethe  door 
opening,  and  opening  very  slowly.  The  chamber 
beyond  the  door  was  dark,  but  my  eyes  would 
grow  accustomed  to  the  darkness  if  only  I  did  not 
turn  them  aside.  As  it  was,  even  now  I  began 
to  see  dim,  shadowy  things  which,  uncompre- 
hended  though  they  were,  struck  something  of  a 
thrill  into  my  blood,  and  something  of  a  chill, 
too. 

"  The  night  that  I  landed  upon  Tresco,"  I  said, 
"  we  crossed  the  Castle  Down,  I  nearly  fell  on  to 
the  roof  of  the  shed,  where  all  the  dead  sailormen 
were  screeching  in  unison." 

"  Yes  ! "  said  Dick,  in  a  low  voice,  and  I  too 
looked  around  me  to  see  that  we  were  not  over- 
heard. Dick  moved  a  little  nearer  to  me  with  an 
uneasy  working  of  his  shoulders. 

*'  Do  you  remember  the  woman  who  passed 
us  ?  "  I  asked. 

"  You  said  it  was  a  woman." 

"And  it  was." 

I  had  the  best  of  reasons  to  be  positive  upon, 
that  point.     I  had  scratched  my  hand  in  the  gorse 


230  THE  WATCHERS 

and  I  had  seen  the  blood  of  my  scratches  the  next 
day  on  the  dress  of  the  woman  who  had  brushed 
against  me  as  she  passed.  That  woman  was 
Helen  Mayle.  Had  she  come  from  the  shed  ? 
What  did  she  need  with  the  key  ? 

*'  Is  that  shed  ever  used  ?"  I  asked. 

"  Not  now." 

"  Whom  does  it  belong  to  ?  '* 

He  nodded  over  towards  Merchant's  Rock. 

"  Then  Adam  Mayle  used  it  ?  " 

"  Cullen  Mayle  used  it." 

*'  Cullen  !  " 

I  sprang  up  to  my  feet  and  walked  away  ;  and 
walked  back ;  and  walked  away  again.  The 
shadowy  things  were  indeed  becoming  visible ; 
my  eyes  were  growing  indeed  accustomed  to  the 
darkness ;  and,  indeed,  the  door  was  opening. 
Should  I  close,  slam  it  to,  lock  it  again  and  never 
open  it  ?     For  I  was  afraid. 

But  if  I  did  shut  it  and  lock  it  I  should  come 
back  to  it  perpetually,  I  should  be  perpetually 
fingering  the  lock.  No  ;  I  would  open  the  door 
wide  and  see  what  was  within  the  room.  I  came 
back  to  Dick. 

"What  did  Cullen  Mayle  use  it  for?  " 

"  He  was  in  league  with  the  Brittany  smugglers. 


THE  LOST  KEY  IS  FOUND        231 

Brandy,  wine,  and  lace  were  landed  on  the  beach 
of  a  night  and  carried  up  to  the  shed." 

'*  Were  they  safe  there  ?  " 

Dick  laughed.  Here  he  was  upon  firm  ground, 
and  he  answered  with  some  pride  : 

"  When  Cullen  Mayle  lived  here,  the  collector 
of  customs  daren't  for  his  life  have  landed  on 
Tresco  in  daylight." 

''  And  at  night  the  dead  sailormen  kept 
watch." 

"  There  wasn't  a  man  who  would  go  near  the 
shed." 

"So  Cullen  Mayle  would  not  have  needed  a  key 
to  lock  the  shed  ?  " 

"  No,  indeed  !  "  and  another  laugh. 

"  Could  he  have  needed  a  key  for  any  other 
purpose  ?  Dick,  we  will  go  slowly,  very  slowly," 
and  I  sat  for  some  while  hesitating  with  a  great 
fear  very  cold  at  my  heart.  That  door  was  open- 
ing fast.  Should  I  push  it  open,  wide  ?  With 
one  bold  thrust  of  the  hand  I  could  do  it — if  I 
would.  But  should  I  see  clearly  into  the  room — 
so  clearly  that  I  could  not  mistake  a  single  thing 
I  saw.  No,  I  would  go  on,  gently  forcing  the 
door  back,  and  all  the  while  accustoming  my  vision 
to  the  gloom. 


232  THE  WATCHERS 

"  Has  that  shed  been  used  since  CuUen  Mayle 
was  driven  away  ?  " 

"  No." 

"  You  are  certain  ?  Oh,  be  certain,  very  cer= 
tain,  before  you  speak." 

Dick  looked  at  me  in  surprise,  as  well  he  might ; 
for  I  have  no  doubt  my  voice  betrayed  something 
of  the  fear  and  pain  I  felt. 

"  I  am  certain." 

**  Well,  then,  have  you,  has  any  one  heard  these 
dead  sailormen  making  merry — God  save  the  mark 
— since  that  shed  has  been  disused?" 

Dick  thought  with  considerable  effort  before  he 
answered.  But  it  did  not  matter ;  I  was  certain 
what  his  answer  would  be. 

"  I  have  never  heard  them,"  he  said. 

"  Nor  have  met  others  who  have  ?  " 

**  No,"  said  he,  after  a  second  deliberation,  *'  I 
don't  remember  any  one  who  has." 

"  From  the  time  Cullen  Mayle  left  Tresco  to  the 
night  when  we  crossed  the  Down  to  Merchant's 
Rock?  There's  one  thing  more.  Cullen  was  in 
league  with  the  Brittany  smugglers.  He  would  be 
in  league,  then,  with  smugglers  from  Penzance, 
who  would  put  him  over  to  Tresco  secretly,  if  he 
needed  it  ? " 


THE  LOST  KEY  IS  FOUND       233 

"  He  was  very  good  friends  with  all  smugglers," 
said  Dick. 

"Then,"  said  I,  rising  from  the  ground,  ''we 
will  sail  back,  Dick,  to  Tresco,  and  have  another 
look  into  that  shed." 

I  made  him  steer  the  boat  eastwards  and  land 
behind  the  point  of  the  old  Grimsby  Harbour, 
on  which  the  Block  House  stands,  and  out  of  sight 
of  Merchant's  Point.  It  was  not  that  I  did  not  wish 
to  be  seen  by  any  one  in  that  house.  But — but — 
well,  I  did  not  wish  at  that  moment  to  land  near  it 
— to  land  where  a  voice  now  grown  familiar  might 
call  to  me. 

From  the  Block  House  we  struck  up  through 
Dolphin  Town  on  to  the  empty  hill,  and  so  came 
to  the  shed.  I  pushed  open  the  door  and  went  in. 
Dick  followed  me  timidly. 

The  floor  was  of  stone.  I  had  been  thinking  of 
that  as  we  sailed  across  from  St.  Helen's.  I  had 
been  thinking,  too,  that  when  I  was  carried  into 
the  inner  room  the  door  of  the  partition  was 
jambed  against  the  floor,  that  Roper  had  kicked 
it  open,  and  that,  as  it  yielded,  I  had  heard  some 
iron  thing  spring  from  beneath  it  and  jingle  across 
the  floor.  That  iron  thing  was,  undoubtedly,  the 
key  which  I  held  in  my  hand. 


234  THE  WATCHERS 

I  placed  it  again  under  the  door.  There  was  a 
fairly  strong  wind  blowing.  I  told  Dick  to  set  the 
outer  door  wide  open  to  the  wind,  which  he  did. 
And  immediately  the  inner  door  began  to  swing 
backwards  and  forwards  in  the  draught.  But  it 
dragged  the  key  with  it,  and  it  dragged  the  key 
over  the  stone  floor.  The  shed  was  filled  with  a 
harsh,  shrill,  rasping  sound,  which  set  one's  finger- 
nails on  edge.  I  set  my  hand  to  the  door  and 
swung  it  more  quickly  backwards  and  for- 
wards. The  harsh  sound  rose  to  a  hideous  in- 
human  grating  screech. 

"  There  are  your  dead  sailormen,  Dick,"  said  I. 
*'  It  was  CuUen  Mayle  who  took  the  key  from  your 
door  on  the  night  I  landed  on  Tresco — CuUen 
Mayle,  who  had  my  horse  to  carry  him  on  the  road 
and  smuggler  friends  at  Penzance  to  carry  him 
over  the  sea.  It  was  Cullen  Mayle  who  was  in 
this  shed  that  night,  and  used  his  old  trick  to  scare 
people  from  his  hiding-place.  It  was  Cullen  Mayle 
who  was  first  in  the  Abbey  burial  ground.  No 
doubt  Cullen  Mayle  has  that  cross.     And  it  was 

Cullen  Mayle  whom  the  woman But,  there, 

enough." 

The  door  was  wide  open  now,  and  this  key  had 
opened  it.     I  could  see  everything  clearly.     My 


THE  LOST  KEY  IS  FOUND       235 

eyes  were,  indeed,  now  accustomed  to  the  gloom 
— so  accustomed  that,  as  I  stepped  from  the 
shed,  all  the  sunlight  seemed  struck  out  of  the 
world. 

It  was  all  clear.  Helen  Mayle  had  come  up  to 
the  shed  that  night.  She  had  told  CuUen  of  the 
stick  in  the  coffin — yes,  she  must  have  done  that. 
She  told  him  of  the  men  who  watched.  What 
more  had  passed  between  them  I  could  not  guess, 
but  she  had  come  back  with  despair  in  her  heart, 
and,  in  the  strength  of  her  despair,  had  walked 
late  at  night  into  his  room — with  that  silk  noose 
in  her  hand. 

That  she  loved  him — that  was  evident.  But 
why  could  she  not  have  been  frank  with  me? 
Cullen  had  spoken  with  her,  had  been  warned  by 
her,  had  left  the  island  since.  Why  had  she  kept 
up  this  pretence  of  anxiety  on  his  account,  of  fear 
that  he  was  in  distress,  of  dread  lest  he  return 
unwitting  of  his  peril  and  fall  into  Glen's  hand  ? 
Clutterbuck's  word  "  duplicity "  came  stinging 
back  to  me. 

I  sent  Dick  away  to  sail  the  boat  back  to  Mer- 
chant's Point,  and  lay  for  a  long  while  on  the 
open  hillside,  while  the  sun  sank  and  evening 
came.     It  was  only  yesterday  that  she  had  played 


236    .  THE  WATCHERS 

in  her  garden  upon  the  vioHn.  I  had  felt  that  I 
knew  her  really  for  the  first  time  as  she  sat  with 
her  pale  face  gleaming  purely  through  the  dark- 
ness. Why  could  she  not  have  been  frank  to 
me?  The  question  assailed  me  ;  I  cried  it  out. 
Surely  there  was  some  answer,  an  answer  which 
would  preserve  my  picture  of  her  in  her  tangled 
garden,  untarnished  within  my  memories.  Surely, 
surely !  And  how  could  such  deep  love  mate  with 
duplicity  ? 

I  put  the  scarf  into  my  pocket,  and  crossed  the 
hill  again  and  came  down  to  Merchant's  Point. 
I  could  not  make  up  my  mind  to  go  in.  How 
could  I  speak  of  that  night  when  I  slept  in 
Cullen  Mayle's  bedroom  ?  I  lay  now  upon  the 
gorse  watching  the  bright  windows.  Now  I  went 
down  to  the  sea  and  its  kindly  murmurings.  And 
at  last,  about  ten  o'clock  of  the  night,  a  white 
figure  came  slowly  from  the  porch  and  stood 
beside  me. 

"  You  have  been  here — how  long  ? — I  have 
watched  you,"  she  said  very  gently.  *'  What  is  it  ? 
Why  didn't  you  come  in?" 

I  took  both  her  hands  in  mine  and  looked  into 
her  eyes. 

"  Will  you  be  frank  with  me  if  I  do  ?  " 


THE  LOST  KEY  IS  FOUND         237 

"  Why,  yes,"  she  said,  and  her  face  was  all  wonder 
and  all  concern.  "  You  hurt  me — no,  not  your 
hands,  but  your  distrust." 


CHAPTER   XVI 

AN   UNSATISFACTORY   EXPLANATION 

We  went  into  the  house,  but  no  farther  than  the 
hall.  For  the  moment  we  were  come  there  she 
placed  herself  in  front  of  me.  I  remember  that 
the  door  of  the  house  was  never  shut,  and  through 
the  opening  I  could  see  a  shoulder  of  the  hill  and 
the  stars  above  it,  and  hear  the  long  roar  of  the 
waves  upon  the  beach. 

**We  are  good  friends,  I  hope,  you  and  I,"  she 
said.  "  Plain  speech  is  the  privilege  of  such 
friendship.  Speak,  then,  as  though  you  were 
speaking  to  a  man.  Wherein  have  I  not  been 
frank  with  you  ?  " 

There  must  be,  I  thought,  some  explanation 
which  would  free  her  from  all  suspicion  of  deceit. 
Else,  how  could  she  speak  with  so  earnest  a 
tongue  or  look  with  eyes  so  steady  ? 

"As  man  to  man,   then,"  I   answered,"!   am 

grieved   I   was  not  told   that  CuUen  Mayle  had 
238 


UNSATISFACTORY  EXPLANATION  239 

come  secretly  to  Tresco  and  had  thence  es- 
caped." 

"  CuUen  ! "  she  said,  in  a  wondering  voice. 
"  He  was  on  Tresco  !     Where  ?  " 

I  constrained  myself  to  answer  patiently. 

"  In  the  Abbey  grounds,  on  St.  Helen's  Island, 
and — "  I  paused,  thinking,  nay  hoping,  that  even 
at  this  eleventh  hour  she  would  speak,  she  would 
explain.  But  she  kept  silence,  nor  did  her  eyes 
ever  waver  from  my  face. 

— "  And,"  I  continued,  "  on  Castle  Down." 

"  There  !  "  she  exclaimed,  and  added,  thought- 
fully, ''  Yes,  there  he  would  be  safe.  But  when 
was  CuUen  upon  Tresco  ?     When  ?  " 

So  the  deception  was  to  be  kept  up. 

"  On  the  night,"  I  answered,  "  when  I  first 
came  to  Merchant's  Point." 

She  looked  at  me  for  a  little  without  a  word, 
and  I  could  imagine  that  it  was  difficult  for  her 
to  hit  upon  an  opportune  rejoinder.  There  was 
one  question,  however,  which  might  defer  her 
acknowledgments  of  her  concealments,  and,  to 
be  sure,  she  asked  it : 

"  How  do  you  know  that?  "  and  before  I  could 
answer,  she  added  another,  which  astonished  me 
by  its  assurance.     "  When  did  you  find  out  ?  " 


240  THE  WATCHERS 

I  told  her,  I  trust  with  patience,  of  the  key  and 
the  various  steps  by  which  I  had  found  out.  ''  And 
as  to  when,"  I  said,  "  it  was  this  afternoon." 

At  that  she  gave  a  startled  cry,  and  held  out  a 
trembling  hand  towards  me. 

"  Had  you  known,"  she  cried,  **  had  you  known 
only  yesterday  that  Cullen  had  come  and  had 
safely  got  him  back,  you  would  have  been  spared 
all  you  went  through  last  night !  " 

"  What  I  went  through  last  night !  "  I  ex- 
claimed, passionately.  "  Oh,  that  is  of  small  ac- 
count to  me,  and  I  beg  you  not  to  suffer  it  to 
trouble  your  peace.  But — I  do  not  say  had  I 
known  yesterday,  I  say  had  I  been  told  yesterday 
• — I  should  have  been  spared  a  very  bitter  disap- 
pointment." 

"  I  do  not  understand,"  she  said,  and  again 
she  put  out  her  hand  towards  me  and  drew  it  in 
and  stretched  it  out  again  with  an  appearance  of 
distress  to  which  even  at  that  moment  I  felt  my- 
self softening.  However,  I  took  no  heed  of  the 
hand.  "  In  some  way  you  blame  me,  but  I  do 
not  understand." 

"  You  would,  perhaps,  find  it  easier  to  under- 
stand if  you  were  at  the  pains  to  remember  that 
on  the  night  I  landed  upon  Tresco,  I  came  over 


UNSATISFACTORY  EXPLANATION  241 

Castle  Down  and  past  the  shed  to  Merchant's 
Point." 

*'  Well  ?  "  and  she  spoke  with  more  coldness, 
as  though  her  pride  made  her  stubborn  in  defi- 
ance. No  doubt  she  was  unaware  that  I  was  close 
to  her  that  night.  It  remained  for  me  to  reveal 
that,  and  God  knows  I  did  it  with  no  sense  of 
triumph,  but  only  a  great  sadness. 

"  As  I  stood  in  the  darkness  a  little  this  side  of 
the  shed,  a  girl  hurried  down  the  hill  from  it. 
She  was  dressed  in  white,  so  that  I  could  make  no 
mistake.  On  the  other  hand,  my  dark  coat  very 
likely  made  me  difficult  to  see.  The  girl  passed 
me,  and  so  closely  that  her  frock  brushed  against 
my  hand.     Now,  can  you  name  the  girl  ?  " 

She  looked  at  me  with  the  same  stubborn- 
ness. 

''No,"  she  said,  "  I  cannot." 

"  On  the  other  hand,"  said  I,  "  I  can.  One 
circumstance  enables  me  to  be  certain.  I  slipped 
on  the  grass  that  night,  and  catching  hold  of  a 
bush  of  gorse  pricked  my  hand." 

''  Yes,  I  remember  that." 

"  I  pricked  my  hand  a  minute  or  two  before 
the  girl  passed  me.  As  I  say,  she  brushed  against 
my  hand,  which  was  bleeding,  and  the  next  day 


242  THE  WATCHERS 

I  saw  the  blood  smirched  upon  a  white  frock — and 
who  wore  it,  do  you  think  ?  " 

*'  I  did,"  she  answered. 

"Ah!  Then  you  own  it.  You  will  own  too 
that  I  have  some  cause  of  discontentment  in  that 
you  have  played  with  me,  whose  one  thought 
was  to  serve  you  like  an  honest  gentleman." 

And  at  that  the  stubbornness,  the  growing  re- 
sentment at  my  questions,  died  clean  out  of  her 
face. 

"  You  would  have  !  "  she  cried  eagerly.  "  You 
would  indeed  have  cause  for  more  than  discontent 
had  I  played  with  you.  But  you  do  not  mean 
that.  You  cannot  think  that  I  would  use  any 
trickeries  with  you.  Oh  !  take  back  your  words ! 
For  indeed  they  hurt  me.  You  are  mistaken 
here.  I  wore  the  frock,  but  it  was  not  I  who  was 
on  Castle  Down  that  night.  It  was  not  I  who 
brushed  past  you " 

"  And  the  stain  ?  "  I  asked. 

"  How  it  came  there  I  do  not  know,"  she  said. 
"  But  this  I  do  know, — it  was  not  your  hand  that 
marked  it.  I  never  knew  that  Cullen  was  on 
Tresco.  I  never  saw  him,  much  less  spoke 
to  him.  You  will  believe  that  ?  No !  Why 
should  I  have  kept  it  secret  if  I  had  ?  "  and  her 


UNSATISFACTORY  EXPLANATION  243 

head  drooped  as  she  saw  that  still  I  did  not 
believe. 

There  was  silence  between  us.  She  stood  with- 
out changing  her  attitude,  her  head  bent,  her 
hands  nervously  clasping  and  unclasping.  The 
wind  came  through  the  open  door  into  the  hall. 
Once  in  the  silence  Helen  caught  her  breath  ;  it 
was  as  though  she  checked  a  sob  ;  and  gradually 
a  thought  came  into  my  mind  which  would  serve 
to  explain  her  silence — which  would,  perhaps, 
justify  it — which,  at  all  events,  made  of  it  a  mis- 
taken act  of  kindness.  So  I  spoke  with  all  gentle- 
ness— and  with  a  little  remorse,  too,  for  the  harsh- 
ness I  had  shown  : 

"  You  said  we  were  good  friends,  you  hoped  ; 
and,  for  my  part,  I  can  say  that  the  words  were 
aptly  chosen.  I  am  your  friend — your  good  friend. 
You  will  understand  ?  I  want  you  also  to  under- 
stand that  it  was  not  even  so  much  as  friendship 
which  brought  me  down  to  Tresco.  It  was  Dick's 
sturdy  example,  it  was  my  utter  weariness,  and 
some  spark  of  shame  Dick  kindled  in  me.  I  was 
living,  though  upon  my  soul  living  is  not  the  word, 
in  one  tiresome  monotony  of  disgraceful  days. 
I  had  made  my  fortune,  and  in  the  making  had 
somehow  unlearnt  how  fitly  to  enjoy  it." 


244  THE  WATCHERS 

"  But  this  I  know,"  interrupted  Helen,  now 
lifting  her  face  to  me. 

"  I  never  told  you." 

"  But  my  violin  told  me.  Do  you  remember? 
I  wanted  to  know  you  through  and  through,  to 
the  heart's  core.  So  I  took  my  violin  and  played 
to  you  in  the  garden.  And  your  face  spoke  in 
answer.     So  I  knew  you." 

It  was  strange.  This  confession  she  made  with 
a  blush  and  a  great  deal  of  confusion — a  confession 
of  a  trick  if  you  will,  but  a  trick  to  which  no 
one  could  object,  by  which  anyone  might  be  flat- 
tered. But  that  other  more  serious  duplicity  she 
could  deny  with  an  unwavering  assurance  ! 

''You  know  then,"  I  went  on.  "  It  makes  it 
easier  for  me.  I  want  you  to  understand  then 
that  it  was  to  serve  myself  I  came,  and  I  do  verily 
believe  that  I  have  served  myself  better  than  I 
have  sei-ved  you.  Why,  I  did  not  even  know 
what  you  were  like.  I  did  not  inquire  of  Clutter- 
buck,  he  drew  no  picture  of  you  to  persuade  me 
to  my  journey.  Thus  then  there  is  no  reason 
why  you  should  be  silent  concerning  Cullen  out  of 
any  consideration  for  me." 

She  looked  at  me  in  perplexity.  My  hint  had 
not  sufficed.     I  must  make  myself  more  clear. 


UNSATISFACTORY  EXPLANATION  245 

»'  I  have  no  doubt,"  I  continued,  "  that  you 
have  seen.  No  doubt  I  might  have  been  more 
circumspect.  No  doubt  I  have  betrayed  myself 
this  last  day.  But,  believe  me,  you  are  under 
no  debt  to  me.  If  I  can  bring  Cullen  Mayle 
back  to   you,  I    will   not   harbour  a  thought  of 

jealousy." 

Did  she  understand?  I  could  not  be  sure. 
But  I  saw  her  whole  face  brighten  and  smile — it 
was  as  though  a  glory  shone  upon  it — and  her 
figure  straighten  with  a  sort  of  pride.  Did  she 
understand  at  the  last  that  she  need  practise  no 
concealments  t  But  she  said  nothing,  she  waited 
for  me  to  say  what  more  I  had  to  say.  Well, 
I  could  make  the  matter  yet  more  plain, 

"  Besides,"  I  said,  "  I  knew— I  knew  very  well 
before  I  set  out  from  London,  Clutterbuck  told 
me.  So  that  it  is  my  own  fault,  you  see,  if  when 
I  came  here  I  took  no  account  of  what  he  told  me. 
And  even  so,  believe  me,   I   do  not   regret  the 

fault." 

"  Lieutenant  Clutterbuck !  "  she  exclaimed, 
with  something  almost  of  alarm.     "  He  told  you 

what?" 

*'  He  told  me  of  a  night  very  like  this.  You 
were  standing  in  this  hall,  very  likely  as  you  stand 


246  THE  WATCHERS 

now,  and  the  door  was  open  and  the  breeze  and 
the  sound  of  the  sea  came  through  the  open  door 
as  it  does  now.  Only  where  I  stand  Cullen 
Mayle  stood,  asking  you  to  follow  him  out  through 
the  world.  And  you  would  have  followed,  you 
did  indeed  begin  to  follow " 

So  far  I  had  got  when  she  broke  in  passionately, 
with  her  eyes  afire  ! 

"  It  is  not  true  !  How  can  men  speak  such  lies  ? 
Lieutenant  Clutterbuck  !  I  know — he  told  me 
the  same  story.  It  would  have  been  much  easier, 
so  much  franker,  had  he  said  outright  he  was  tired 
of  his— friendship  for  me  and  wished  an  end  to  it. 
I  should  have  liked  him  the  better  had  he  been  so 
frank.  But  that  he  should  tell  you  the  same  story 
Oh  !  it  is  despicable — and  you  believe  it  ?  "  she 
challenged  me.  ''  You  believe  that  story.  You 
believe,  too,  I  went  to  a  trysting  with  Cullen  on 
Castle  Down,  the  night  you  came,  and  kept  it 
secret  from  you  and  let  you  run  the  peril  of  your 
life.  You  will  have  it,  in  a  word,  whatever  I  may 
say  or  do,"  and  she  wrung  her  hands  with  a  queer 
helplessness.  "You  will  have  it  that  I  love  him. 
Pity,  a  sense  of  injustice,  a  feeling  that  I  wrongly 
possess  what  is  rightly  his — these  things  you  will 
not  allow  can  move  me.     No,  I  must  love  him." 


UNSATISFACTORY  EXPLANATION  247 

"Have  I  not  proof  you  do?"  I  answered. 
"  Not  from  Clutterbuck,  but  from  yourself.  Have 
I  not  proof  into  what  despair  your  love  could 
throw  you  ? "  And  I  took  from  my  pocket  the 
silk  scarf.     "  Where  did  I  get  this  ?  " 

She  took  it  from  my  hands,  while  her  face  soft- 
ened. She  drew  it  through  her  fingers,  and 
a  smile  parted  her  lips.  She  raised  her  eyes 
to  me  v/ith  a  certain  shyness,  and  she  answered 
shyly  : 

"  Yet  you  say  you  were  not  curious  to  know 
anything  of  me  in  London  before  you  started  to 
the  West." 

The  answer  was  no  answer  at  all.  I  repeated 
my  question  : 

"  How  do  I  come  to  have  that  scarf?  " 

"  I  can  but  guess,"  she  said  ;  "  I  did  not  know 
that  Lieutenant  Clutterbuck  possessed  it.  But  it 
could  be  no  one  else.  You  asked  it  of  Lieutenant 
Clutterbuck  in  London." 

For   a    moment    I    could   not   believe    that    I 
had  heard  a  right.     I  stared  at    her.     It    was    im 
possible  that  any  woman   could  carry   effrontery 
to    so    high    a    pitch.      But    she    repeated   her 
words. 

*'  Lieutenant    Clutterbuck   gave   it   to   you  no 


248  THE  WATCHERS 

doubt  in  London,  and — will  you  tell  me? — I 
should  like  to  know.  Did  you  ask  him 
for  it?" 

Should  I  strip  away  this  pretence  ?  Should  I 
compel  her  to  own  where  I  found  it  and  how  I 
came  by  it  ?  But  it  seemed  not  worth  while.  I 
turned  on  my  heel  without  a  word,  and  went 
straight  out  through  the  open  door  and  on  to  the 
hillside. 

And  so  this  was  the  second  night  which  I  spent 
in  the  gorse  of  Castle  Down.  One  moment  I  was 
hot  to  go  back  to  London  and  speak  to  no  woman 
for  the  rest  of  my  days.  The  next  I  was  all  for 
finding  Cullen  Mayle  and  heaping  coals  of  fire 
upon  Helen's  head.  The  coals  of  fire  carried  the 
day  in  the  end. 

As  morning  broke  I  walked  down  to  the  Palace 
Inn  fully  resolved.  I  would  search  for  Cullen 
Mayle  until  I  found  him.  I  would  bring  him 
back.  I  would  see  him  married  to  Helen  from  a 
dark  corner  in  St.  Mary's  Church,  and  when  the 
pair  were  properly  unhappy  and  miserable,  as 
they  would  undoubtedly  become — I  was  very 
sorry,  but  miserable  they  would  be — why  then  I 
would  send  her  a  letter.  The  writing  in  the  letter 
should   be  "Ha!  ha!" — not   a   word   more,    not 


UNSATISFACTORY  EXPLANATION  249 

even  a  signature,  but  just  "  Ha !  ha !  "  on  a  blank 
sheet  of  paper. 

But,  as  I  have  said,   I  had  grown  very  young 
these  last  few  days. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

CULLEN  MAYLE  COMES  HOME 

The  search  was  entirely  unsuccessful.  Through 
the  months  of  November  and  December  I  travelled 
hither  and  thither,  but  I  had  no  hint  as  to  CuUen 
Mayle's  whereabouts  ;  and  towards  the  end  of  the 
year  I  took  passage  in  a  barque  bound  for  St. 
Mary's,  where  I  landed  the  day  before  Christmas 
and  about  the  fall  of  the  dusk.  It  was  my 
intention  to  cross  over  that  night  to  Tresco  and 
report  my  ill-success,  which  I  was  resolved  to  do 
with  a  deal  of  stateliness.  I  was  also  curious  to 
know  whether  Peter  Tortue  was  still  upon  the 
island. 

But  as  I  walked  along  the  street  of  Hugh  Town 

to  the  *'  Dolphin  "  Inn,  by  the  Customs  House,  a 

band  of  women  dancing  and  shouting,  with  voices 

extraordinarily  hoarse,    swept    round  the  corner. 

I  fell  plump  amongst  them,   and   discovered  they 

were   men  masquerading  as  women.     Moreover, 

they  stopped   me,   and  were   for  believing  that  I 

was  a  woman  masquerading   as   a  man  ;  and,  in- 
250 


CULLEN  MAYLE  COMES  HOME    251 

deed,  when  they  had  let  me  go  I  did  come  upon 
a  party  of  girls  dressed  up  for  sea  captains  and 
the  like,  who  swaggered,  counterfeiting  a  manly 
walk,  and  drawing  their  hangers  upon  one  another 
with  a  great  show  of  spirit. 

The   reason  of  these    transformations  was  ex- 
plained to  me  at  the   "  Dolphin."     It  seems  that 
they  call  this   sort  of  amusement  "  a  goose-danc- 
ing," and  the   young  people  exercise   it  in  these 
islands   at    Christmas    time.     I  was   told   that  it 
would  be  impossible  for  me  to  hire  a  boatman  to 
put  me  over  to  Tresco  that  night  ;  so  I  made  the 
best  of   the  matter,  and   to  pass  the  time  stepped 
out  again  into  the  street,  which  was   now  lighted 
up    with    many  torches    and  crowded  with   mas- 
queraders.     They  went  dancing  and  singing  from 
house  to  house  ;  the  women   paid   their  addresses 
with  an  exaggeration   of  courtly  manners  to  the 
men,  who,  dressed  in  the  most  uncouth  garments 
that  could  be  devised,  received  them  with  a  droll 
shyness  and  modesty,  and  altogether,  what  with 
liquor  and  music,  the  festival  went  with  a  deal  of 
noise  and  spirit.     But  in  the   midst  of   it   one  of 
these    false  women,  with   a  great  bonnet    pulled 
forward  over  her  face,  clapped  a  hand  upon  my 
shoulder  and  said  in  my  ear : 


252  THE  WATCHERS 

"  Mr.  Berkeley,  I  hope  you  have  been  holding 
better  putt  cards  of  late ;  "  and  would  have  run 
on,  but  I  caught  him  by  the  arm. 

*'  Mr.  Featherstone,"  said  I,  ''  you  stole  my 
horse  ;  I  have  a  word  to  say  to  you." 

''  I  have  not  the  time  to  listen,"  said  he,  wrench- 
ing his  arm  free  as  he  flung  himself  into 
the  thick  of  the  crowd.  I  kept  close  upon  his 
heels,  however,  which  he  perceived,  and  drawing 
into  a  corner  he  suddenly  turned  round  upon 
me. 

"  Your  horse  is  dead,"  said  he.  "  I  very  much 
regret  it ;  but  I  will  pay  you,  for  I  have  but  now 
come  into  an  inheritance.  I  will  pay  you  for  it 
to-morrow." 

"  I  did  not  follow  you  to  speak  of  the  horse,  or 
to  Mr.  Featherstone  at  all,  but  to  Mr.  Cullen 
Mayle." 

"You  know  me?"  he  exclaimed,  looking 
about  him  lest  the  name  should  have  been  over- 
heard. 

"  And  have  news  for  you,"  I  added.  "  Will  you 
follow  me  to  the  *  Dolphin  ?  '  " 

I  went  back  to  the  inn,  secured  from  my  host  a 
room  where  we  could  be  private,  and  went  out  to 
the  door.     Cullen  Mayle  was  waiting  ;  he  followed 


CULLEN  MAYLE  COMES  HOME    253 

me  quickly  in,  hiding  his  face  so  that  no  one 
could  recognise  him,  and  when  the  door  was 
shut — 

"  How  in  the  world  did  you  come  to  know  of 
my  name?  "  said  he.  "  I  cannot  think,  but  I  shall 
be  obliged  if  you  will  keep  it  secret  for  a  day  or 
so,  for  I  am  not  sure  but  what  I  may  have  some 
inconvenient  friends  among  these  islands." 

"  Those  inconvenient  friends  are  all  gone  but 

one,"  said  I. 

''  You  know  that  too,"  he  exclaimed.     "  Indeed, 

Mr.  Berkeley,  you  seem  to  be  very  well  acquainted 

with  my  affairs  ;  but  I  cannot  regret  it,  since  you 

give  me  such  comforting  news.     Only  one  of  my 

inconvenient  friends  left !     Why,  I  am  a  match 

for  one — I  think  I  may  say  so  without  vaunting — 

so  it  seems  I  can  come  to  Tresco  and  take  up  my 

inheritance." 

With  that  he  began  briskly  to  unhook  the  cotton 

dress  which   he   had   put   on    over   his  ordinary 

clothes. 

'' Inheritance !"  said  I.  "You  mentioned  the 
word  before.     I  do  not  understand." 

"  Oh,"  said  he,  "  it  is  a  long  story  and  a  melan- 
choly. My  father  drove  me  from  the  house,  and 
bequeathed  his  fortune  to  an  adopted   daughter." 


254  THE  WATCHERS 

"  Yes,"  said  I  quickly,  *'  I  know  that  too." 

"  Indeed  !  "  and  he  stopped  his  toilette  to  stare 
at  me.  "  Perhaps  you  are  aware  then  that  Helen 
Mayle,  conscious  of  my  father's  injustice,  be- 
queathed it  again  to  me." 

"  Yes,  but — but — you  spoke  of  an  immediate 
inheritance." 

'*  Ah,"  said  he,  coolly,  "  there  is  something, 
then,  I  can  inform  you  of.     Helen  Mayle  is  dead." 

"  What's  that  ? "  I  cried,  and  started  to  my 
feet.  I  did  not  understand.  I  was  like  a  man 
struck  by  a  bullet,  aware  dimly  that  some  hurt 
has  come  to  him,  but  not  yet  conscious  of  the 
pain,  not  yet  sensible  of  the  wound. 

"  Hush !  "  said  Cullen  Mayle,  and  untying  a 
string  at  his  waist  he  let  his  dress  fall  about 
his  feet.  ''  It  is  most  sad.  Not  for  the  world 
would  I  have  come  into  this  inheritance  at  such  a 
cost.  You  knew  Helen  Mayle,  perhaps?"  he 
asked,  with  a  shrewd  glance  at  me.  *'  A  girl  very 
staunch,  very  true,  who  would  never  forget  a 
friendy  He  emphasised  that  word  *'  friend  "  and 
made  it  of  a  greater  significance.  *'  Indeed,  I  am 
not  sure,  but  I  must  think  it  was  because  she  could 
not  forget  a — friend  that,  alas !  she  died." 

I  was  standing  stupefied.     I  heard  the  words  he 


CULLEN  MAYLE  COMES  HOME    255 

spoke,  but  gave  them  at  this  moment  no  meaning. 
I  was  trying  to  understand  the  one  all-important 
fact. 

"  Dead  !  "  I  babbled.     "  Helen  Mayle— dead  !  " 

"  Yes,  and  in  the  strangest,  pitiful  way.  I  can- 
not think  of  it,  without  the  tears  come  into  my 
eyes.  The  news  came  to  me  but  lately,  and  you 
will  perhaps  excuse  me  on  that  account."  His 
voice  broke  as  he  spoke  ;  there  were  tears,  too,  in 
his  eyes.  I  wondered,  in  aduU  way,  whether  after 
all  he  had  really  cared  for  her.  "  But  how  comes 
it  that  you  knew  her?  "  he  asked. 

I  sat  down  upon  a  chair  and  told  him — of  Dick 
Parmiter's  coming  to  London,  of  my  journey  into 
the  West.  I  told  him  how  I  had  come  to  recog- 
nise him  at  the  inn  ;  and  as  I  spoke  the  compre- 
hension of  Helen's  death  crept  slowly  into  my 
mind,  so  that  I  came  to  a  stop  and  could  speak 
no  more. 

^'  You  were  on  your  way  to  Tresco,"  said  he, 
"  when  we  first  met.  Then  you  know  that  she  is 
dead  ?  " 

*'  No,"  I  answered.     ''  When  did  she  die  ?  " 

"  On  the  sixth  of  October,"  said  he. 

I  do  not  think  that  I  should  have  paid  great 
heed  to  his  words,  but  something  in  his  voice — 


256  THE  WATCHERS 

an  accent  of  alarm — roused  me.  I  lifted  my  eyes 
and  saw  that  he  was  watching  me  with  a  singular 
intentness. 

"  The  sixth  of  October,"  I  repeated  vaguely, 
and  then  I  broke  into  a  laugh,  so  harsh  and 
hysterical  that  it  seemed  quite  another  voice  than 
mine.  "  Your  news  is  false,"  I  cried  ;  "  she  is  not 
dead  !  Why,  I  did  not  leave  Tresco  till  the  end 
of  October,  and  she  was  alive  then  and  no  sign  of 
any  malady.  The  sixth  of  October  !  No,  indeed, 
she  did  not  die  upon  that  day." 

"Are  you  sure?"  he  exclaimed. 

"  Sure  ?  "  said  I.  "  I  have  the  best  of  reasons 
to  be  sure ;  for  it  was  on  the  sixth  of  October  that 
I  first  set  foot  in  Tresco,"  and  at  once  Cullen 
Mayle  sprang  up  and  shook  me  by  the  hand. 

"  Here  is  the  bravest  news,"  he  said.  His  whole 
face  was  alight ;  he  could  not  leave  hold  of  my 
hand.  "  Mr.  Berkeley,  I  may  thank  God  that  I 
spoke  to  you  to-night.  *  Helen  ! '  " — and  he  lin- 
gered upon  the  name.  "  Upon  my  word,  it  would 
take  little  more  to  unman  me.  So  you  landed  on 
the  sixth  of  October.  But  are  you  sure  of  the 
date?  "  he  asked  with  earnestness.  "  I  borrowed 
your  horse  but  a  few  days  before.  You  would 
hardly  have  travelled  so  quickly." 


CULLEN  MAYLE  COMES  HOME    257 

"  I  travelled  by  sea  with  a  fair  wind,"  said  I. 
**  It  was  the  sixth  of  October.  Could  I  forget  it  ? 
Why,  that  very  night  I  crossed  Castle  Down  to 
Merchant's  Point ;  that  very  night  I  entered  the 
house.  Dick  Parmiter  showed  me  a  way.  I 
crept  into  the  house,  and  slept  in  your  bed- 
room  " 

I  had  spoken  so  far  without  a  notion  of  the  dis- 
closure to  which  my  words  were  leading  me.     I 
was  not  looking  at  CuUen  Mayle,  but  on  to  the 
ground,  else  very  likely  I  might  have  read  it  upon 
his  face.     But  now  in  an  instant  the  truth  of  the 
matter  was  clear  to  me.     For  as  I  said,  ''  I  slept 
in  your  bedroom,"  he  uttered  one  loud  cry,  leapt 
to  his  feet,  and  stood  over  against  me,  very  still 
and  quiet.     I  had  sufficient  wit  not  to  raise  my 
head   and   betray  this  new   piece  of  knowledge. 
That  sad  and  pitiful  death  on  the  sixth  of  October, 
of  which  he  had  heard  with  so  deep  a  pain — he 
had  never  heard  it,  he  had  planned  it,  and  the 
plan  miscarried.     He  knew  why,  now,  and  so  was 
standing  in  front  of  me  very  still  and  quiet.     He 
had   seen    Helen   that    night    on    Castle    Down ; 
there,  no  doubt,  she  had  told  him  how  in  her  will 
she  had  disposed  of  her  inheritance  ;  and  he  had 
persuaded  her,  working  on  her  generosity — with 
17 


25$  THE  WATCHERS 

what  prepared  speeches  of  despair  ! — to  that 
strange,  dark  act  which  it  had  been  my  good 
fortune  to  interrupt.  It  was  clear  to  me.  The 
very  choice  of  that  room,  wherein  alone  secrecy 
was  possible,  made  it  clear.  He  had  suggested  to 
her  the  whole  cunning  plan  ;  and  a  moment  ago  I 
had  almost  been  deceived  to  believe  his  expres- 
sions of  distress  sincere ! 

"  I  told  you  I  was  nearly  unmanned,"  I  heard 
him  say  ;  "  and  you  see  even  so  I  underrated  the 
strength  of  my  relief,  so  that  the  mere  surprise  of 
your  ingenious  shift  to  get  a  lodging  took  my 
breath  away." 

He  resumed  his  seat,  and  I,  having  now  com- 
posed my  face,  raised  it  full  to  him.  I  have 
often  wondered  since  whether,  as  he  stood  above 
mc,  motionless  and  silent  during  those  few  mo- 
ments, I  was  in  any  danger. 

"  Yes,"  said  I,  "  it  was  no  doubt  surprising." 

This,  however,  was  not  the  only  surprise  I  was 
to  cause  Cullen  Mayle  that  night. 

He  proposed  immediately  that  we  should  cross 
to  Tresco  together,  and  on  my  objecting  that  we 
should  get  no  one  to  carry  us  over — 

"  Oh,"  said  he,  "  I  have  convenient  friends  in 
Scilly  as  well  as  inconvenient."     He  looked  out 


CULLEN  MAYLE  COMES  HOME    259 

of  the  window.  "  The  tide  is  high,  and  washes 
the  steps  at  the  back  of  the  inn.  Do  you  wait 
here  upon  the  steps.  I  will  have  a  boat  there  in 
less  than  half  an  hour ;  "  and  on  the  word  he 
hooked  up  his  dress  again  and  got  him  out  of  the 
inn. 

I  waited  upon  the  steps  as  he  bade  me.  Be- 
hind me  were  the  lights  and  the  uproar  of  the 
street  ;  in  front,  the  black  water  and  the  cool 
night ;  and  still  further,  out  of  sight,  the  island 
of  Tresco,  the  purple  island  of  bracken  and  gorse, 
resonant  with  the  sea. 

In  a  little  I  heard  a  ripple  of  water,  and  the 
boat  swam  to  the  steps.  I  was  careful  as  we 
sailed  across  the  road  to  say  nothing  to  Cullen 
Mayle  which  would  provoke  his  suspicion.  I  did 
not  even  allow  him  to  see  I  was  aware  that  he 
himself  had  been  upon  Tresco  on  the  sixth  of 
October.  It  was  not  difficult  for  me  to  keep 
silence.  For  as  the  water  splashed  and  seethed 
under  the  lee  of  the  boat,  and  Tresco  drew  nearer, 
I  had  to  consider  what  I  should  do  in  the  light  of 
my  new  knowledge.  It  would  have  been  so  much 
easier  had  only  Helen  been  frank  with  me. 

Tresco  dimly  loomed  up  out  of  the  darkness. 

*'  By  the  way,"    said   Cullen    Mayle,  who   had 


26o  THE  WATCHERS 

been  silent  too,  ''  you  said  that  one  of  the  watch- 
ers had  remained.  It  will  be  George  Glen,  I  sup- 
pose.'* 

'*  No,"  I  answered.  *'  It  is  a  Frenchman,  Peter 
Tortue,"  and  by  the  mere  mention  of  the  name  I 
surprised  Cullen  Mayle  again  that  evening.  It  is 
true  that  this  time  he  uttered  no  exclamation,  and 
did  not  start  from  his  seat.  But  the  boat  shot  up 
into  the  wind  and  got  into  irons,  as  the  saying  is, 
so  that  I  knew  his  hand  had  left  the  tiller.  But 
he  said  nothing  until  we  were  opposite  to  the 
Blockhouse,  and  then  he  asked  in  a  low  trembling 
voice  : 

*'  Did  you  say  Peter  Tortue?  '* 

^'Yes." 

There  was  another  interval  of  silence.  Then  he 
put  another  question  and  in  the  same  tone  of 
awe : 

"  A  young  fellow,  less  than  my  years " 

"No.  The  young  fellow's  father,"  said  I.  "A 
man  of  sixty  years.  I  think  I  should  be  wary  of 
him." 

"Why?" 

"  He  said,  *  I  am  looking,  not  for  the  cross,  but 
for  a  man  to  nail  upon  the  cross,'  and  he  meant 
his  words,  every  syllable." 


CULLEN  MAYLE  COMES  HOME    261 

Again  we  fell  to  silence,  and  so  crossed  the  Old 
Grimsby  Harbour  and  rounded  its  northern  point. 
The  lio;hts  of  the  house  were  in  view  at  last. 
They  shot  out  across  the  darkness  in  thin  lines  of 
light  and  wavered  upon  the  black  water  lengthen- 
ing and  shortening  with  the  slight  heave  of  the 
waves.  When  they  shortened,  I  wondered  whether 
they  beckoned  me  to  the  house  ;  when  they  length- 
ened out,  were  they  fingers  which  pointed  to  us 
to  be  gone? 

"  Since  you  know  so  much,  Mr.  Berkeley,"  whis- 
pered Cullen  Mayle,  "  perhaps  you  can  tell  me 
whether  Glen  secured  the  cross." 

"  No,  he  failed  in  that." 

"  I  felt  sure  he  would,"  said  Cullen  with  a 
chuckle,  and  he  ran  the  boat  aground,  not  on  the 
sand  before  the  house  but  on  the  bank  beneath 
the  garden  hedge.  We  climbed  through  the 
hedge ;  two  windows  blazed  upon  the  night,  and 
in  the  room  sat  Helen  Mayle  close  by  the  fire,  her 
violin  on  a  table  at  her  side  and  the  bow  swinging 
in  her  hand.  I  stepped  forward  and  rapped  at 
the  window.  She  walked  across  the  room  and 
set  her  face  to  the  pane,  shutting  out  the  light 
from  her  eyes  with  her  hands.  She  saw  us  stand- 
ing side  by  side.     Instantly  she  drew  down  the 


262  THE  WATCHERS 

blinds  and  came  to  the  door,  and  over  the  grass 
towards  us.  She  came  first  to  me  with  her  hand 
outstretched. 

"  It  Is  you,"  she  said  gently,  and  the  sound  of 
her  voice  was  wonderful  in  my  ears.  I  had 
taken  her  hand  before  I  was  well  aware  what  I 
did. 

*'Yes,"  said  I. 

"■  You  have  come  back.  I  never  thought  you 
would.     But  you  have  come." 

"  I  have  brought  back  Cullen  Mayle,"  said  I, 
as  indifferently  as  I  could,  and  so  dropped  her 
hand.     She  turned  to  Cullen  then. 

*'  Quick,"  she  said.     "  You  must  come  in." 

We  went  inside  the  door. 

"  It  is  some  years  since  I  trod  these  flags,"  said 
Cullen.  ''  Well,  I  am  glad  to  come  home,  though 
it  is  only  as  an  outcast ;  and  indeed,  Helen,  I  have 
not  the  right  even  to  call  it  home." 

It  was  as  cruel  a  remark  as  he  could  well  have 
made,  seeing  at  what  pains  the  girl  had  been,  and 
still  was,  to  restore  that  home  to  him.  That  it 
hurt  her  I  knew  very  well,  for  I  heard  her,  in  the 
darkness  of  the  passage,  draw  in  her  breath 
through  her  clenched  teeth.  Cullen  walked  along 
the  passage  and  through  the  hall. 


CULLEN  MAYLE  COMES  HOME    263 

"  Lock  the  door,"  Helen  said  to  me,  and  I  did 
lock  it.     ''  Now  drop  the  bar." 

When  that  was  done  we  walked  together  into 
the  hall,  where  she  stopped. 

*'  Look  at  me,"  she  said,  "  please !  "  and  I 
obeyed  her. 

"  You  have  come  back,"  she  repeated.  "  You 
do  not,  then,  any  longer  believe  that  I  deceived 
you  r 

'^  There  is  a  reason  why  I  have  come  back,"  I 
answered.  It  was  a  reason  which  I  could  not 
give  to  her.  I  was  resolved  not  to  suffer  her  to  lie 
at  the  mercy  of  Cullen  Mayle.  Fortunately,  she 
did  not  think  to  ask  me  to  be  particular  about 
the  reason.  But  she  beat  her  hands  once  or  twice 
together,  and — 

"  You  still  believe  it,  then  !  "  she  cried.  "  With 
these  two  months  to  search  and  catch  and  hold 
the  truth,  you  still  hold  me  in  the  same  contempt 
as  when  you  turned  your  back  on  me  and  walked 
out  through  that  door?" 

''  No,  no  !  "  I  exclaimed.  ''  Contempt !  That 
never  entered  into  any  thought  I  ever  had  of  you. 
Make  sure  of  that !  " 

"  Yet  you  believe  I  tricked  you.  How  can  you 
believe  that,  and  yet  spare  me  your  contempt !  " 


264  THE  WATCHERS 

"  I  am  no  philosopher.  It  is  the  truth  I  tell 
you,"  I  answered,  simply  ;  and  the  face  of  Cullen 
Mayle  appeared  at  the  doorway  of  the  parlour,  so 
that  no  more  was  said. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

MY  PERPLEXITIES  ARE   EXPLAINED 

There  is  no  need  for  me  to  tell  at  any  length 
the  conversation  that  passed  between  the  three  of 
us  that  night.  Cullen  Mayle  spoke  frankly  of  his 
journey  to  the  Sierra  Leone  River. 

"  Mr.  Berkeley,"  he  said,  "  already  knows  so 
much,  that  I  doubt  it  would  not  be  of  any  avail 
to  practise  mysteries  with  him.  And  besides 
there  is  no  need,  for,  if  I  mistake  not,  Mr.  Berke- 
ley  can  keep  a  secret  as  well  as  any  man." 

He  spoke  very  politely,  but  with  a  keen  eye  on 
me  to  notice  whether  I  should  show  any  con- 
fusion or  change  colour.  But  I  made  as  though 
I  attached  no  significance  to  his  words  beyond 
mere  urbanity.  He  told  us  how  he  made  his 
passage  to  the  Guinea  Coast  as  a  sailor  before  the 
mast,  and  then  fell  in  with  George  Glen.  It 
seemed  prudent  to  counterfeit  a  friendly  opinion 
that  the  cross  would  be  enough  for  all.     But  when 


266  THE  WATCHERS 

they  discovered  the  cross  was  gone  from  its 
hiding  place,  he  took  the  first  occasion  to  give 
them  the  slip. 

*'  For  I  had  no  doubt  that  my  father  had  been 
beforehand,"  said  he.  "  Had  I  possessed  more 
wisdom,  I  might  have  known  as  much  when  I 
heard  him  from  my  bed  refuse  his  assistance  to 
George  Glen,  and  so  saved  myself  an  arduous  and 
a  perilous  adventure.  For  my  father,  was  he 
never  so  rich,  was  not  the  man  to  turn  his  back 
on  the  King  of  Portugal's  cross." 

Of  his  father,  Cullen  spoke  with  good  nature 
and  a  certain  hint  of  contempt ;  and  he  told  us 
much  which  he  had  learned  from  George  Glen. 
"  He  went  by  the  name  of  Kennedy,"  said  Cullen, 
*'  but  they  called  him  '  Crackers '  for  the  most 
part.  He  was  not  on  the  Royal  Fortmie  at  the 
time  when  Roberts  was  killed,  so  that  he  was 
never  taken  prisoner  with  the  rest,  nor  did  he 
creep  out  of  Cape  Corse  Castle  like  George 
Glen." 

"  Then  he  was  never  tried  or  condemned,"  said 
Helen,  who  plainly  found  some  relief  in  that 
thought. 

"  No ! "  answered  Cullen,  with  a  chuckle. 
"  But  why  ?     He  played  rob-thief — a  good  game, 


PERPLEXITIES  EXPLAINED       267 

but  it  requires  a  skilled  player.  I  would  never 
have  believed  Adam  had  the  skill.  Roberts  put 
him  in  command  of  a  sloop  called  the  Ranger^ 
which  he  had  taken  in  the  harbour  of  Bahia,  and 
when  he  put  out  to  sea  on  that  course  which 
brought  him  into  conjunction  with  the  Swallow, 
he  left  the  Rajiger  behind  in  Whydah  Bay.  And 
what  does  Adam  do  but  haul  up  his  anchor  as 
soon  as  Roberts  was  out  of  sight,  and,  being  well 
content  with  his  earnings,  make  sail  for  Maryland, 
where  the  company  was  disbanded.  I  would  I 
had  known  that  on  the  day  Vv^e  quarrelled.  Body 
o'  me,  but  I  would  have  made  the  old  man  quiver. 
Well,  Adam  came  home  to  England,  settled  at 
Bristol,  where  he  married,  and  would  no  doubt 
have  remained  there  till  his  death,  had  he  not 
fallen  in  with  one  of  his  old  comrades  on  the 
quay.  That  frightened  him,  so  he  come  across  to 
Tresco,  thinking  to  be  safe.  And  safe  he  was 
for  twenty  years,  until  George  Glen  nosed  him 
out." 

Thereupon,  CuUen,  from  relating  his  advent- 
ures, turned  to  questions  asking  for  word  of  this 
man  and  that  whom  he  had  known  before  he  went 
away.  These  questions  of  course  he  put  to  Helen, 
and  not   once  did  he  let  slip  a  single  allusion  to 


268  THE  WATCHERS 

the  meeting  he  had  had  with  her  in  the  shed  on 
Castle  Down.  For  that  silence  on  his  part  I  was 
well  prepared ;  the  man  was  versed  in  secrecy. 
But  Helen  showed  a  readiness  no  whit  inferior ; 
she  never  hesitated,  never  caught  a  word  back. 
They  spoke  together  as  though  the  last  occasion 
when  they  had  met  was  the  night,  now  four  years 
and  a  half  ago,  when  Adam  Mayle  stood  at  the 
head  of  the  stairs  and  drove  his  son  from  the 
house.  One  thing  in  particular  I  learned  from 
her,  the  negro  had  died  a  month  ago. 

It  was  my  turn  when  the  gossip  of  the  islands 
had  been  exhausted,  and  I  had  to  tell  over  again 
of  my  capture  by  Glen  and  the  manner  of  my 
escape.  I  omitted,  however,  all  mention  of  an 
earlier  visitant  to  the  Abbey  burial  grounds,  and 
it  was  to  this  omission  that  I  owed  a  confirmation 
of  my  conviction  that  Cullen  Mayle  was  the 
visitant.  For  when  I  came  to  relate  how  George 
Glen  and  his  band  sailed  away  towards  France 
without  the  cross,  he  said  : 

"  If  I  could  find  that  cross,  I  might  perhaps 
think  I  had  some  right  to  it.  It  is  yours,  Helen, 
to  be  sure,  by  law,  and " 

She  interrupted  him,  as  she  was  sure  to  do, 
with  a  statement  that  the  cross  and  everything 


PERPLEXITIES  EXPLAINED       269 

else  was  for  him  to  dispose  of  as  he  thought  fit. 
But  he  was  magnanimous  to  a  degree. 

"  The  cross,  Helen,  nothing  but  the  cross,  if  I 
can  find  it.  I  have  a  thought  which  may  help  me 
to  it.  *  Three  chains  east  of  the  east  window  in 
south  aisle  of  St.  Helen's  Church.'  Those  were 
the  words,  I   think." 

"  Yes,"  said  I. 

*'  And  Glen  measured  the  distance  correctly  }  " 

"  To  an  inch." 

*•  Well,  what  if — it  is  a  mere  guess,  but  a  likely 
one,  I  presume  to  think, — what  if  the  chains  were 
Cornish  chains?  There  would  be  a  difference  of 
a  good  many  feet,  a  difference  of  which  George 
Glen  would  be  unaware.  You  see  I  trust  you, 
Mr.  Berkeley.  I  fancy  that  I  can  find  that  cross 
upon  St.  Helen's  Island." 

"  I  have  no  doubt  you  will,"  said  I. 

Cullen  rose  from  his  chair. 

"  It  grows  late,  Helen,"  said  he,  "  and  I  have 
kept  you  from  your  sleep  with  my  gossiping." 
He  turned  to  me.  "  But,  Mr.  Berkeley,  you  per- 
haps will  join  me  in  a  pipe  and  a  glass  of  rum  ? 
My  father  had  a  good  store  of  rum,  which  in  those 
days  I  despised,  but  I  have  learnt  the  taste  for  it." 

His  proposal  suited  very  well  with  my  deter- 


270  THE  WATCHERS 

mination  to  keep  a  watch  that  night  over  Helen's 
safety,  and  I  readily  agreed. 

"  You  will  sleep  in  your  old  room,  CuUen,"  she 
said,  "  and  you,  Mr.  Berkeley,  in  the  room  next  to 
it ;  "  and  that  arrangement  suited  me  very  well. 
Helen  wished  us  both  good-night,  and  left  us 
together. 

We  went  up  into  Mayle's  cabin  and  Cullen 
mixed  the  rum,  which  I  only  sipped.  So  it  was 
not  the  rum.  I  cannot,  in  fact,  remember  at  all 
feeling  any  drowsiness  or  desire  to  sleep.  I  think 
if  I  had  felt  that  desire  coming  over  me  I  should 
have  shaken  it  off ;  it  would  have  warned  me  to 
keep  wide  awake.  But  I  was  not  sensible  of  it 
at  all ;  and  I  remember  very  vividly  the  last  thing 
of  which  I  was  conscious.  That  was  Cullen 
Mayle's  great  silver  watch  which  he  held  by  a 
ribbon  and  twirled  this  w^ay  and  that  as  he  chatted 
to  me.  He  spun  it  with  great  quickness,  so  that 
it  flashed  in  the  light  of  the  candle  like  a  mirror, 
and  at  once  held  and  tired  the  eyes.  I  was  con- 
scious of  this,  I  say,  and  of  nothing  more  until 
gradually  I  understood  that  some  one  was  shaking 
me  by  the  shoulders  and  rousing  me  from  sleep. 
I  opened  my  eyes  and  saw  that  it  was  Helen 
Mayle  who  had  disturbed  me. 


PERPLEXITIES  EXPLAINED      2;i 

It  took  me  a  little  time  to  collect  my  wits.  I 
should  have  fallen  asleep  again  had  she  not  hin- 
dered me  ;  but  at  last  I  was  sufficiently  roused 
to  realise  that  I  was  still  in  the  cabin,  but  that 
Cullen  Mayle  had  gone.  A  throb  of  anger  at  my 
weakness  in  so  letting  him  steal  a  march  quickened 
me  and  left  me  wide  awake.  Helen  Mayle  was 
however  in  the  room,  plainly  then  she  had  suffered 
no  harm  by  my  negligence.  She  was  at  this 
moment  listening  with  her  ear  close  to  the  door, 
so  that  I  could  not  see  her  face. 

*'  What  has  happened  ?  "  I  asked,  and  she  flung 
up  her  hand  with  an  imperative  gesture  to  be  silent. 

After  listening  for  a  minute  or  so  longer  she 
turned  towards  me,  and  the  aspect  oi  her  face 
filled  me  with  terror. 

"  In  God's  name  what  has  happened,  Helen  ?  '* 
I  whispered.  For  never  have  I  seen  such  a  face, 
so  horror-stricken — no,  and  I  pray  that  I  never 
may  again,  though  the  face  be  a  stranger's  and 
not  one  of  which  I  carried  an  impression  in  my 
heart. 

Yet  she  spoke  with  a  natural  voice. 

"  You  took  so  long  to  wake  !  "  said  she. 

*'  What  o'clock  is  it?  "  I  asked. 

'*  Three.     Three   of   the   morning;    but   speak 


2J2  THE  WATCHERS 

low,  or  rather  listen  !  Listen,  and  while  you  listen 
look  at  me,  so  that  I  may  know."  She  seated 
herself  on  a  chair  close  to  mine,  and  leant  forward, 
speaking  in  a  whisper.  *'  On  the  night  of  the  sixth 
of  October  I  went  to  the  shed  on  Castle  Down  and 
had  word  with  Cullen  Mayle.  Returning  I  passed 
you,  brushed  against  you.  So  much  you  have 
maintained  before.  But  listen,  listen !  That 
night  you  climbed  into  Cullen's  bedroom  and  fell 
asleep,  and  you  woke  up  in  the  dark  middle  of 
the  night." 

"  Stop  !  stop  !  "  I  whispered,  and  seized  her 
hands  in  mine.  Horror  was  upon  me  now,  and  a 
hand  of  ice  crushing  down  my  heart.  I  did  not 
reason  or  argue  at  that  moment.  I  knew — her 
face  told  me — she  had  been  after  all  ignorant  of 
what  she  had  done  that  night.  "  Stop  ;  not  a 
word  more — there  is  no  truth  in  it." 

'■'■  Then  there  is  truth  in  it,"  she  answered,  "  for 
you  know  what  I  have  not  yet  told  you.  It  is 
true,  then — your  waking  up — the  silk  noose  !  My 
God  !  my  God  !  "  and  all  the  while  she  spoke  in 
a  hushed  whisper,  which  made  her  words  ten  times 
more  horrible,  and  sat  motionless  as  stone.  There 
was  not  even  a  tremor  in  the  hands  I  held  ;  they 
lay  like  ice  in  mine. 


PERPLEXITIES  EXPLAINED       273 

"  How  do  you  know?  "  I  said.  "  But  I  would 
have  spared  you  this  !  You  did  not  know,  and  I 
doubted  you.  Of  course — of  course  you  did  not 
know.  Good  God  !  Why  could  not  this  secret 
have  lain  hid  in  me  ?  I  would  have  spared  you 
the  knowledge  of  it.  I  would  have  carried  it  down 
safe  with  me  into  my  grave." 

Her  face  hardened  as  I  spoke.  She  looked 
down  and  saw  that  I  held  her  hands ;  she  plucked 
them  free. 

"  You  would  have  kept  the  secret  safe,"  she 
said,  steadily.  ''  You  liar !  You  told  it  this  night 
to  Cullen  Mayle." 

Her  words  struck  me  like  a  blow  in  the  face. 
I  leaned  back  in  my  chair.  She  kept  her  eyes 
upon  my  face. 

"  I— told  it— to  Cullen  Mayle?"  I  repeated. 

She  nodded  her  head. 

"  To-night  ?  " 

*'  Here  in  this  room.  My  door  was  open.  I 
overheard." 

'*  I  did  not  know  I  told  him,"  I  exclaimed ; 
and  she  laughed  horribly  and  leaned  back  in  the 
chair. 

All  at  once  I  understood,  and  the  comprehension 

wrapped  me  in  horror.     The  horror  passed  from 
18 


274  THE  WATCHERS 

me  to  her,  though  as  yet  she  did  not  understand. 
She  looked  as  though  the  world  yawned  wide 
beneath  her  feet.  ^'  Oh ! "  she  moaned,  and, 
*'  Hush !  "  said  I,  and  I  leaned  forward  towards 
her.  '^  I  did  not  know,  just  as  you  did  not  know 
that  you  went  to  the  shed  on  Castle  Down,  that 
you  brushed  against  me  as  you  returned, — just  as 
you  did  not  know  of  what  happened  thereafter." 

She  put  her  hands  to  her  head  and  shivered. 

"Just  as  you  did  not  know  that  four  years  ago 
when  CuUen  Mayle  was  turned  from  the  door,  he 
bade  you  follow  him,  and  you  obeyed,"  I  con- 
tinued. *'  This  is  Cullcn  Mayle's  work — devil's 
work.  He  spun  his  watch  to  dazzle  you  four  years 
ago ;  he  did  the  same  to-night,  and  made  me  tell 
him  why  his  plan  miscarried.  Plan  !  "  and  at  last 
I  understood.  I  rose  to  my  feet  ;  she  did  the 
same.  "  Yes,  plan  !  You  told  him  you  had  be- 
queathed everything  to  him.  He  knew  that  to- 
night when  I  met  him  at  St.  Mary's.  How  did 
he  know  it  unless  you  told  him  on  Castle  Down  ? 
He  bade  you  go  home,  enter  his  room,  where  no 
one  would  hear  you,  and — don't  you  see  ?  Helen  ! 
Helen !  " 

I  took  her  in  my  arms,  and  she  put  her  hands 
upon  my  shoulders  and  clung  to  them. 


PERPLEXITIES  EXPLAINED       275 

"  I  have  heard  of  such  things  in  London,"  said 
I.  "  Some  men  have  this  power  to  send  you  to 
sleep  and  make  you  speak  or  forget  at  their  pleas- 
ure ;  and  some  have  more  power  than  this,  for 
they  can  make  you  do  when  you  have  waked  up 
what  they  have  bidden  you  to  do  while  you  slept, 
and  afterwards  forget  the  act ; "  and  suddenly 
Helen  started  away  from  me,  and  raised  her 
finger. 

We  both  stood  and  listened. 

''  I  can  hear  nothing,"  I  whispered. 

She  looked  over  her  shoulder  to  the  door.  I 
motioned  her  not  to  move.  I  walked  noiselessly 
to  the  door,  and  noiselessly  turned  the  handle.  I 
opened  the  door  for  the  space  of  an  inch  ;  all  was 
quiet  in  the  house. 

"  Yet  I  heard  a  voice,"  she  said,  and  the  next 
moment  I  heard  it  too. 

The  candles  were  alight.  I  crossed  the  room 
and  squashed  them  with  the  palm  of  my  hand. 
I  was  not  a  moment  too  soon,  for  even  as  I  did  so 
I  heard  the  click  of  a  door  handle,  and  then  a 
creak  of  the  hinges,  and  a  little  afterwards — foot- 
steps. 

A  hand  crept  into  mine  ;  we  waited  in  the  dark- 
ness,   holding    our   breath.     The    footsteps  came 


276  THE  WATCHERS 

down  the  passage  to  the  door  behind  which  we 
stood  and  passed  on.  I  expected  that  they  would 
be  going  towards  the  room  in  which  Helen  slept. 
I  waited  for  them  to  cease  that  I  might  follow  and 
catch  Cullen  Mayle,  damned  by  some  bright  proof 
in  his  hand  of  a  murderous  intention.  But  they 
did  not  cease  ;  they  kept  on  and  on.  Surely  he 
must  have  reached  the  room.  At  last  the  foot- 
steps ceased.  I  opened  the  door  cautiously  and 
heard  beneath  me  in  the  hall  a  key  turn  in  a 
lock. 

A  great  hope  sprang  up  in  me.  Suppose  that 
since  his  plan  had  failed,  and  since  Tortue  waited 
for  him  on  Tresco,  he  had  given  up  !  Suppose 
that  he  was  leaving  secretly,  and  for  good  and 
all !  If  that  supposition  could  be  true  !  I  prayed 
that  it  might  be  true,  and  as  if  in  answer  to  my 
prayer  I  saw  below  me  where  the  hall  door  should 
be  a  thin  slip  of  twilight.  This  slip  broadened 
and  broadened.  The  murmur  of  the  waves  be- 
came a  roar.  The  door  was  opening — no,  now  it 
was  shutting  again ;  the  twilight  narrowed  to  a 
slip  and  disappeared  altogether. 

"  Listen,"  said  I,  and  we  heard  footsteps  on  the 
stone  tiles  of  the  porch. 

"  Oh,  he  is  gone  ! "  said  Helen,  in  an  indescrib- 
able accent  of  relief. 


PERPLEXITIES  EXPLAINED       277 

"Yes,  gone,"  said  I.  ''See,  the  door  of  his 
room  is  open." 

I  ran  down  the  passage  and  entered  the  room. 
Helen  followed  close  behind  me. 

"  He  is  gone,"  I  repeated.  The  words  sounded 
too  pleasant  to  be  true.  I  approached  the  bed 
and  flung  aside  the  curtains.  I  stooped  forward 
over  the  bed. 

"  Helen,"  I  cried,  and  aloud,  "  out  of  the  room  ! 
Quick!    Quick!" 

For  the  words  were  too  pleasant  to  be  true.  I 
flung  up  my  arm  to  keep  her  back.  But  I  was 
too  late.  She  had  already  seen.  She  had  ap- 
proached the  bed,  and  in  the  dim  twilight  she  had 
seen.  She  uttered  a  piercing  scream,  and  fell 
against  me  in  a  dead  swoon. 

For  the  man  who  had  descended  the  stairs  and 
unlocked  the  door  was  not  CuUen  Mayle. 


CHAPTER  XIX 

THE   LAST 

Mesmer  at  this  date  was  a  youth  of  twenty- 
four,  but  the  writings  of  Van  Helmont  and  Wir- 
digand  G.  Maxwell  had  already  thrown  more  than 
a  glimmering  of  light  upon  the  reciprocal  action 
of  bodies  upon  each  other,  and  had  already  dem- 
onstrated the  existence  of  a  universal  magnetic 
force  by  which  the  human  will  was  rendered  ca- 
pable of  influencing  the  minds  of  others.  It  was 
not,  however,  till  seventeen  years  later — in  the 
year  1775,  to  be  precise — that  Mesmer  published 
his  famous  letter  to  the  Academies  of  Europe. 
And  by  a  strange  chance  it  was  in  the  same  year 
that  I  secured  a  further  confirmation  of  his  doc- 
trines and  at  the  same  time  an  explanation  of  the 
one  matter  concerned  with  this  history  of  which 
I  was  still  in  ignorance.  In  a  word,  I  learned 
at   last   how   young    Peter   Tortue   came   by  his 

death. 

278 


THE  LAST  279 

I  did  not  learn  it  from  liis  father.  That  im- 
placable man  I  never  saw  after  the  night  when  we 
listened  to  his  footsteps  descending  the  stairs  in 
the  darkness.  He  was  gone  the  next  morning 
from  the  islands,  nor  was  any  trace  oF  him,  for  all 
the  hue  and  cry,  discovered  for  a  long  while — not, 
indeed,  for  ten  years,  when  my  son,  who  was  then 
a  lad  of  eight,  while  playing  one  day  among  the 
rocks  of  Peninnis  Head  on  St,  Mary's,  dropped 
clean  out  of  my  sight,  or  rather  out  of  Helen's  sight, 
for  I  was  deep  in  a  book,  and  did  not  raise  my 
head  until  a  cry  from  my  wife  startled  me. 

We  ran  to  the  loose  pile  of  boulders  where  the 
boy  had  vanished,  and  searched  and  called  for  a 
few  minutes  without  any  answer.  But  in  the  end 
a  voice  answered  us,  and  from  beneath  our  feet. 
It  was  the  boy's  voice  sure  enough,  but  it  sounded 
hollow,  as  though  it  came  from  the  bowels  of  the 
earth.  By  following  the  sound  we  discovered  at 
last  between  the  great  boulders  an  interstice, 
which  would  just  allow  a  man  to  slip  below 
ground.  This  slit  went  down  perpendicularly  for 
perhaps  fifteen  or  twenty  feet,  but  there  were  sure 
footholds  and  one  could  disappear  in  a  second. 
At  the  bottom  of  this  hole  was  a  little  cave,  very 
close  and  dark,  in  which  one  could  sit  or  crouch. 


28o  THE  WATCHERS 

On  the  floor  of  this  cave  I  picked  up  a  knife,  and, 
bringing  it  to  the  light,  I  recognised  the  carved 
blade,  which  I  had  seen  Tortue  once  polish  upon 
his  thigh  in  the  red  light  of  a  candle.  The  cave, 
upon  inquiry,  was  discovered  to  be  well  known 
amongst  the  smugglers,  though  it  was  kept  a 
secret  by  them,  and  they  called  it  by  the  curious 
name  of  Issachum-Pucchar. 

This  discovery  was  made  in  the  year  of  1768, 
and  seven  years  later  I  chanced  to  be  standing 
upon  the  quay  at  Leghorn  when  a  vessel  from 
Oporto,  laden  with  wine  and  oil,  dropped  anchor 
in  the  harbour,  and  her  master  came  ashore.  I 
recognised  him  at  once,  although  the  years  had 
changed  him.  It  was  Nathaniel  Roper.  I  followed 
him  up  into  the  town,  where  he  did  his  business 
with  the  shipping  agent  and  thence  repaired  to 
a  tavern.  I  entered  the  tavern,  and  sitting  down 
over  against  him  at  the  same  table,  begged  him  to 
oblige  me  by  drinking  a  glass  at  my  expense, 
which  he  declared  himself  ready  to  do.  "  But 
I  cannot  tell  why  you  should  want  to  drink  with 
me  rather  than  another,"  said  he. 

"  Oh  !  as  to  that,"  said  I,  "  we  are  old  acquaint- 
ances." 

He   answered,  with   an   oath   or  two,  that  he 


THE  LAST  281 

could   not  lay  his  tongue  to  the  occasion   of  our 
meeting. 

"  You  swear  very  fluently  and  well,"  said  I. 
'*  But  you  swore  yet  more  fluently,  I  have  no 
doubt,  that  morning  you  sailed  away  from  St. 
Helen's  Island  without  the  Portuguese  King's 
cross." 

His  face  turned  the  colour  of  paper,  he  half  rose 
from  his  chair  and  sat  down  again. 

*'  I  was  never  on  Tresco,"  he  stammered. 

'*  Who  spoke  of  Tresco,  my  friend  ? "  said  I, 
with  a  laugh.  "  I  made  mention  of  St.  Helen's. 
Yet  you  were  upon  Tresco.  Have  you  forgotten  ? 
The  shed  on  Castle  Down?  The  Abbey  burial 
ground  ? "  and  then  he  knew  me,  though  for 
awhile  he  protested  that  he  did  not. 

But  I  persuaded  him  in  the  end  that  I  meant 
no  harm  to  him. 

"  You  were  at  Sierra  Leone  with  CuUen,  may- 
be," said  L  "  Tell  me  how  young  Peter  Tortue 
came  by  his  death  ?  "  and  he  told  me  the  story 
which  he  had  before  told  to  old  Peter  in  an  ale- 
house at  Wapping. 

Peter,  it  appeared,  had  not  been  able  to  hold 
his  tongue  at  Sierra  Leone.  It  became  known 
through  his  chattering  that  Glen's  company  and 


282  THE  WATCHERS 

Cullen  Mayle  were  going  up  the  river  in  search  of 
treasure,  and  it  was  decided  for  the  common  good 
to  silence  him  lest  he  should  grow  more  particular, 
and  relate  what  the  treasure  was  and  how  it  came 
to  be  buried  on  the  bank  of  that  river.  George 
Glen  was  for  settling  the  matter  with  the  stab  of 
a  knife,  but  Cullen  Mayle  would  have  none  of 
such  rough  measures. 

"  I  know  a  better  and  more  delicate  way,"  said 
he,  "  a  way  very  amusing  too.  You  shall  all 
laugh  to-morrow  ; "  and  calling  Peter  Tortue  to 
him,  he  betook  himself  with  the  whole  party  to 
the  house  of  an  old  buccaneering  fellow,  John 
Leadstone,  who  kept  the  best  house  in  the  settle- 
ment, and  lived  a  jovial  life  in  safety,  being  on 
very  good  terms  with  any  pirate  who  put  in.  He 
had,  indeed,  two  or  three  brass  guns  before  his 
door,  which  he  was  wont  to  salute  the  appearance 
of  a  black  flag  with.  To  his  house  then  the 
whole  gang  repaired,  and  while  they  were  making 
merry,  Cullen  Mayle  addressed  himself  with  an 
arduous  friendliness  to  Peter  Tortue,  taking  his 
watch  from  his  fob  and  bidding  the  Frenchman 
admire  it.  For  a  quarter  of  an  hour  he  busied 
himself  in  this  way,  and  then  of  a  sudden  in  a 
stern  commanding  voice  he  said  : 


THE  LAST  283 

"  Stand  up  in  the  centre  of  the  room,"  which 
Peter  Tortue  obediently  did. 

"Now,"  continued  Cullen,  with   a  chuckle  to 
his  companions,  "  I'll  show  you  a  trick  that  will 
tickle   you.     Peter,"  and  he   turned  toward  him. 
"  Peter,"     and    he  spoke    in   the  softest,  friend- 
liest  voice,  "  you  talk  too  much.     I'll  clap  a  gag 
on  your  mouth,  you   stinking  offal !     To-morrow 
night,  my  friend,   at  ten    o'clock   by  my  watch, 
when   we   are  lying  in  our  boat  upon  the  river, 
you  will  fall  asleep.     Do  you  hear  that  ?  " 
''Yes,"  said  Peter  Tortue,  gazing  at  Mayle. 
"  At  half-past  ten,  as  you  sleep,  you   will   feel 
cramped  for  room,  and  you  will  dangle  a  leg  over 
the  side  of  the  boat  in  the  river.      Do  you   hear 
that?" 
"  Yes ! " 

"Very  well,"  said  Cullen.  "That  will  learn 
you  to  hold  your  tongue.  Now  come  back  to 
your  chair." 

Peter  obeyed  him  again. 

"  When  you  wake  up,"  added  Cullen,  "  you  will 
continue  to  talk  of  my  watch  which  you  so  much 
admire.  You  will  not  be  aware  that  any  time  has 
passed  since  you  spoke  of  it  before.  You  can 
wake  up  now." 


284  THE  WATCHERS 

He  made  some  sort  of  motion  with  his  hands 
and  Peter,  whose  eyes  had  all  this  time  been  open, 
said  : 

*'  I'll  buy  a  watch  as  like  that  as  a  pea  to  a  pea. 
First  thing  I  will,  as  soon  as  I  handle  my  share." 

CuUen  Mayle  laughed,  but  he  was  the  only  one 
of  that  company  that  did.  The  rest  rather 
shrank  from  him  as  from  something  devilish, 
at  which,  however,  he  only  laughed  the  louder, 
being  as  it  seemed  flattered  by  their  fear. 

The  next  day  the  six  men  started  up  the  river 
in  a  long-boat  which  they  borrowed  of  Leadstone, 
and  sailed  all  that  day  until  evening  when  the 
tide  began  to  fall. 

Thereupon  Cullen,  who  held  the  tiller,  steered 
the  boat  out  of  the  channel  of  the  river  and  over 
the  mudbanks,  which  at  high  tide  were  covered  to 
the  depth  of  some  feet. 

Here  all  was  forest  :  the  great  tree-trunks, 
entwined  with  all  manner  of  creeping  plants, 
stood  up  from  the  smooth  oily  water,  and  the 
roof  of  branches  over  head  made  it  already  night. 

''  I  have  lost  my  way,"  said  Cullen.  ''  It  will 
not  be  safe  to  try  to  regain  the  channel  until  the 
tide  rises.  It  falls  very  quickly  here,  Leadstone 
tells  me,  and  we  should  get    stuck   upon   some 


THE  LAST  285 

mudbank.  Let  us  look  for  a  pool  where  we  may 
lie  until  the  tide  rises  in  the  morning." 

Accordingly  they  took  their  oars  and  pulled  in 
and  out  amongst  the  trees,  while  Cullen  Mayle 
sounded  with  the  boat-hook  for  a  greater  depth  of 
water.  The  tide  fell  rapidly ;  bushes  of  under- 
growth scraped  the  boat's  side,  and  then  Mayle's 
boathook  went  down  and  touched  no  bottom. 

"  This  will  do,"  said  he. 

It  was  nine  o'clock  by  his  watch  at  this  time, 
and  the  crew  without  any  fire  or  light  made  their 
supper  in  the  boat  as  best  they  could.  Mean- 
while the  tide  still  sank  ;  banks  of  mud  rose  out 
of  the  black  water ;  the  forest  stirred,  and  was 
filled  with  a  horrible  rustling  sound,  of  fish  flap- 
ping and  crabs  crawling  and  scuttering  in  the 
slime ;  and  on  the  pool  on  which  the  boat  lay 
every  now  and  then  a  ripple  would  cross  the  water 
as  though  a  faint  wind  blew,  and  a  broad  black 
snout  would  show,  and  a  queer  lugubrious  cough 
echo  out  amongst  the  tree-trunks. 

"  Crocodiles,  Peter,"  said  Cullen  gaily,  and  he 
clapped  Tortue  on  the  shoulder.  "  It  would  not 
be  prudent  to  take  a  bath  in  the  pool.  Hand  the 
lantern  over,  Glen  !  "  and  when  he  had  the  lantern 
in  his  hand  he  looked  at  his  watch. 


286  THE  WATCHERS 

^'  Five  minutes  to  ten,"  said  he.  ''  Well,  it  is 
not  so  long  to  wait." 

''  Four  hours,"  grumbled  Tortue,  who  was 
thinking  of  the  tide. 

'*  No,  only  five  minutes,  my  friend,"  Cullen 
corrected  him,  softly  ;  and  sure  enough  in  five 
minutes  Peter  stretched  himself  and  complained 
that  he  was  sleepy. 

Cullen  laughed  with  a  gentle  enjoyment  and 
whistled  a  tune  between  his  teeth.  But  the  others 
waited  in  a  sort  of  paralysis  of  horror  and  amaze- 
ment. Even  these  hardened  men  were  struck  with 
a  cold  fear.  The  suggestions  of  the  place,  too, 
had  their  effect.  Above  them  was  a  black  roof 
of  leaves,  the  close  air  was  foul  with  the  odour  of 
things  decaying  and  things  decayed,  and  every- 
where about  them  was  perpetually  heard  the 
crawling  and  pattering  of  the  obscene  things  which 
lived  in  the  mud. 

Peter  Tortue  stirred  in  his  sleep,  and  Cullen 
held  up  the  face  of  his  watch  in  the  light  of  the 
lantern  so  that  all  in  the  boat  might  see.  It  was 
half-past  ten.  Peter  lifted  his  leg  over  the  side 
and  let  it  fall  with  a  splash  in  the  water.  It 
dangled  there  for  about  five  minutes,  and  then 
the  man  uttered  a  loud  scream  and  clutched  at  the 


THE  LAST  287 

thwart,  but  the  next  instant  he  was  dragged  over 
the  boat's  side. 

Roper  told  me  this  story,  and  the  horror  of  it 
Hved  again  upon  his  face  as  he  spoke. 

''Well,"  said  I,  ''the  father  took  his  revenge. 
He  stabbed  CuUen  Mayle  to  the  heart  as  he  lay 
in  bed.  There  is  one  thing  more  I  would  like 
to  know.  Can  you  remember  the  paper  with 
the  directions  of  the  spot  where  the  cross  was 
buried  ?" 

*'  Yes,'*  said  he ;  "  am  I  likely  to  forget  it  ?  " 

"  Could  you  write  them  out  again,  word  for 
word  and  line  for  line,  as  they  were  written  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  said  he. 

I  called  for  a  sheet  of  paper  and  a  pen  and  ink, 
and  set  them  before  Roper,  and  he  wrote  the 
directions  laboriously,  and  handed  the  paper  back 
to  me.  There  were  only  two  lines  with  which  I 
was  concerned,  and  they  ran  in  this  order : 

"  The  S  aisle  of  St.  Helen's  Church.     Three  chains  east  by 
the  compass  of  the  east  window." 

"  Are  you  sure  you  have  made  no  mistake  ?  "  I 
asked.  "  This  is  a  facsimile  of  the  paper  which 
you  took  from  the  hollow  of  the  stick.  Look 
again ! " 


288  THE  WATCHERS 

I  gave  it  back  to  him  and  he  scratched  his  head 
over  it  for  a  little.  Then  he  wrote  the  directions 
again  upon  a  second  sheet  of  paper,  and  when  he 
had  written,  tore  off  a  corner  of  the  paper. 

''  Ah  !  "  said  I,  ''  that  is  what  I  thought."  He 
handed  it  to  me  again,  and  it  ran  now : — 

"  The  S  aisle  of  S.  Helen's  Church.     Three  chains 

east  by  the  compass  of  the  east  window." 

On  that  corner  which  had  been  torn  a  word  had 
been  written.  I  knew  the  word.  It  would  be 
"  Cornish."  I  knew,  too,  who  had  torn  off  the 
corner. 

The  cross  still  lies  then  three  Cornish  chains 
east  of  that  window,  or  should  do  so.  We  at  all 
events  have  not  disturbed  it,  for  we  do  not  wish 
to  have  continually  before  our  eyes  a  reminder 
of  those  days  when  the  sailors  watched  the  house 
at  Merchant's  Point.  Even  as  it  is,  I  start  up 
too  often  from  my  sleep  in  the  dark  night  and 
peer  forward  almost  dreading  again  to  see  the 
flutter  of  white  at  the  foot  of  the  bed,  and  to  hear 
again  the  sound  of  some  one  choking. 

THE  END. 


GENERAL  LIBRARY 
UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA— BERKELEY 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below,  or  on  the 

date  to  which  renewed. 

Renewed  books  are  subject  to  immediate  recall. 


Cf  4.    ?954  LU 
5Jan'58JZ 

REC  D  i-D 

||(£C'l)LU    "^^ 


l^^kjt 


iiUM  1 6  '72  5  » 
RECciR.  mz  0  '80 


N  1  2  72  -W  AN»JU^92  9 1983 

R£C  CIR  AUG  9    '83 


FEB  1 5  ig^fiAY  2  2 1981 

RHC.  CIR.   JAN  3  1 


mc  ca    MAY  2  1  1981 
980 


7  iSKi 


LD  21-100m-l,'54(1887sl6)476 


1 


CDssEss^s^ 


